RWBY: Lone Wolf of Remnant
by shadowsamurai77
Summary: In a world where your the only wolf left its hard to find a pack that understands who you are. If not then he won't survive whats coming to Remnant. Nothing like a little school life to help Theo Gravewolfe discover not only himself but the pack he had always wanted. Rated M for language among other things.
1. Chapter 1

The Night The Sky Was Red

How did everything get so bad? The night sky was red like blood, or that could have been the blood flowing from his charred face. His body pinned under debris from a sudden attack from the side. He wasn't a doctor but by the way his arm felt it was broken. "Move damn it!" He willed his body to do but his body gave up before his mind did. He could do nothing as his friends and family were torn apart all around him. He could see some of the men trying to fight but there was too many of them. Grimm, monsters of destruction whose sole purpose is to destroy humanity. The village was attacked by beowulf's from out of nowhere. Grimm covered in black fur and white bones that acted as armor. There huge teeth and claws ripped and tore apart anyone that moved.

Once we knew that recovering the village was out of reach we moved our efforts to evacuate the people. I ran through the village with an old rusted blade trying to help the soldiers when I was struck from behind. That's when I heard the screams of the people trying to evacuate, their route was cut off we couldn't escape. Now we were just sheep surrounded by wolves.

He grunted in pain from trying to move again.

There was a scream ahead of him through the smoke. A silhouette of something slowly made its way to him through the smoke. It was no villager but a beowolf. Blood dripping from its teeth, its red eyes full of unquenchable blood thirst and hatred. His left arm still held onto the sword, maybe if he waited till it was very close he could give the beast a run for its money. The Grimm stalked closer and closer till it was five feet away from him. Looking down at the defeated human with its soulless gaze. It lunged at him and the warrior thrust his blade to meet the challenge.

It hit its target!

The blade pierced through its eye, the beast roared in pain thrashing about taking the sword with it. The beast gripped the tiny blade in its claws and ripped it from its eye. It looked back towards the human that seemed to smirk at his determination to continue fighting.

Its teeth clamped down on his broken arm. Never in his entire life had he felt so much pain. He couldn't stop himself from screaming as it dragged him from underneath the rubble, arm still in its maw thrashing him about like a doll. He tried to kick it until the beast grabbed him by the leg and threw him into a wall. "Gah!" He fell on to his side unable to move a muscle. There was no way he was going to even try to get up now. He faded in and out of consciousness till the Grimm again stood above him. This time it only stared at him with a single eye. A weak grin crept onto his face, at least he didn't die without getting some payback. This would be an honorable death.

It moved to strike again to finish off the boy when something flashed in front of them. The Grimm made a sort of gurgling noise then its head slowly slid from its neck rolling only a few feet. A bird, a crow, flew from out of the corner of his eye and took up a perch on the Grimms head. It looked at him with abnormally red eyes, something in them gave him a feeling of familiarity but he didn't know what.

He chuckled weakly. "Are you a Grimm too bird?"

Suddenly he fell over on his face, he couldn't muster any strength. So young and the world was already taking him away from everything he knew. He tried to blink away the exhaustion but something seemed to be pulling on him to just close his eyes. He blinked again and suddenly in the place of the crow was a man. The sound of something being twisted off then chugging confused him. Is that liquor?

"You really tried to fight that Grimm in your state? Why?" The voice asked with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"I-i have to defend my village. Please don't let my people die!" He screamed with all his might.

The man sighed in annoyance, the poor kid didn't even know.

"Kid I hate to say this but everyo-"

"NO!" He screamed again lashing out and grabbing the strangers blade with his hand.

"Give me your blade I'll cut them down myself, I'll kill them all!" He tried to get up but only screamed in pain, his body was done for. He could hear the stranger chuckle gravely.

The sound of growling Grimm could be heard all around them.

The stranger grabbed his longsword then with a flick of the wrist turned into a deadly scythe.

"Kid before I save your butt again why don't you tell me your name."

A smirk crawled up on his face before his head hit the dirt, his body finally giving up from the strain. In a weak tone, he said his name. "... Theo… Theo Gravewolfe."

Qrow Branwen couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "Well Theo don't you worry. My name is Qrow, and if this Huntsman isn't the strongest most handsome man in remnant then you can-"

He realized the boy was slumped over passed out. His chest still moved which was good.

A Grimm charged at him and the huntsmen slashed upward cleaving the beowulf in two. More Grimm appeared from the forest making him sigh. "This is going to be a long night," Qrow said to himself before raising his scythe over his head.

* * *

Theo awoke from his sleep slowly. He was staring at a ceiling that he didn't recognize. He sat up slowly trying to ignore the pain. Theos right arm and left eye were wrapped in bandages. Unlike his right arm, his left was fine. There was an aching pain when he tried to curl his fingers. When he finally got done taking off the bandages from his forearm he could see the damage. Teeth marks from the beowolf would now be a grotesque branding he would have to get used to. A gut-wrenching feeling hit him. If his arm was that bad how was his eye? There was a mirror across from him. Theo got out of bed slowly, he almost stumbled from the numbness in his legs but he made it. Now that Theo was in the mirror he hesitated for a moment. He didn't let it get to him and started to unravel his bandages.

A scar ran down through his eyebrow at the bottom of his left eye. A jagged reminder he would have to live with every day.

Something clicked inside him. Fury ran through his blood like a river. Everything just went red he couldn't stop it. His fists balled up and a black flame seemed to pool from his body enveloping him all over. His eyes looked towards the mirror again. His once black eyes turned into a blood orange. "What is happening?!" He put his hands on his face and screamed in pain. This anger hurt, it burned. Theo couldn't take it anymore and smashed the mirror. The door opened behind him and he spun around. A girl with yellow hair and purple eyes stared at him from the doorway.

The black flames around Theo's body began to touch everything. "Help me," Theo whispered falling to his knees praying the pain would go away.

"Uncle Qrow!" She yelled. The flames seemed to move into her soul. Spreading throughout her body like a poison till Yang fell over clutching her chest. She couldn't breathe.

Qrow ran from the living room to see his niece writhing on the floor. "What is this!?" Qrow said as he picked up his niece. That same feeling began to fill his body. If it wasn't for his aura he might have been done for. The huntsmen ran from the house and into fresh air where it was easier to breathe. He leaned her up against the tree where she took huge gulps of air back into her lungs.

"Yang stay here I'll get him out!"

Yang wanted to scream for him to come back but her senses were all disoriented. Being outside lifted that crushing feeling she felt before. Whatever that power was she wished never to feel it again.

Qrow ran back inside and immediately felt that suffocating power again. Now the flames reached the living room. But It didn't burn anything. It was more like a poisonous flame but he knew better to further inspect it. He wrapped his cloak around his face hoping it would help but it was to little effect. Qrow made it back towards the room where Theo was still on his knees. He whispered to himself trying to calm himself down but this power seemed to be growing stronger from his pleas. The huntsmen ran into the room not really knowing if it would work but he didn't know what else to do. He reeled his arm back just as the boy looked up at him with those emerald colored eyes.

Theos head was thrown back from the fist that connected with his nose. The whispers he heard in his head began to subside and the flames around them disappeared just as quickly as the strike. Theo was sent across the floor gripping his face in pain. It stopped the flames so he would take this over anything else.

Qrow reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver flask and quickly chugged down whatever contents were inside.

"Well, kid, looks like your just full of surprises." Qrow said as he sat down on the bed.

Theo looked up at the man still confused about what just happened. The night sky was red he remembered. The day his journey would begin.

* * *

Author notes:

Yeahhhhh so I tried to think of a good MHA idea but couldn't. Not without it taking forever to type up. Plus when I first began to type "Of Gem and Man" I had begun to type up a RWBY fanfic I never published. I have a few more chapters I'm going to put out today so if you have any feedback please drop a review or PM. Thank you for your time.

Shadow...


	2. Chapter 2

Start Of A New Day

Theo sat on a couch in the living room staring blankly at Qrow and the yellow haired girl who looked a little on edge. He would have been to if a stranger was in there house igniting black flames all over. Nothing was damaged or burnt for some odd reason which made this weird all around.

"Thank you Mister Branwen. I don't know," Theo took a moment, "what happened to me?"

Qrow shrugged his shoulders.

"My only guess is that your semblance is manifesting due to recent events. Will know more later but…" Qrow looked to his niece who starred at Theo like a hawk.

"I think my niece deserves an apology."

She looked at him, her mouth opened to say something but she closed it. Some things were better left unsaid. What she wanted to say would have been one for the books.

Theo hadn't really noticed her till he said something. He looked her up and down taking in this new character. The first thing he noticed was her golden hair and eyes that reminded him of a flower. A lilac. The thought would of made him chuckle but he wasn't in the mood. She wore a tan vest and a yellow low-cut crop top. Atop her black shorts she had a brown belt with a pouch attached to it along with what looked like a banner that was decorated with a burning heart that matched the one on her top.

He stood up from the chair and bowed to her, a custom that he was taught when greeting and or apologizing to another. "I'm sorry miss for my actions last night, my rage put you and mister Branwen in danger."

Yang was shocked by his apology. Just a moment ago he almost killed her and now he was here bowing to her. Yang didn't know how to feel about him just yet. She might of been being to harsh to him, he was a stranger that made a bad first impression. There would be more to come but at the moment she would stay wary of him.

"I accept your apology Mister Gravewolfe." She said with a soft tone. Theo knew better, her eyes gave it away.

"Please miss you can just call me Theo."

"And you don't have to call me miss. My name is Yang Xiao Long. Just call me Yang." Jeez he could use that steele in her voice to build a railroad.

Theo only bowed once more trying to hide some of his embarrassment..

Qrow clapped his hands getting their attention. "Well firecracker looks like you made a new friend."

Yang wanted to shake her head but decided against it.

"Now that apologies are out of the way. Theo."

The teen turned to Qrow.

"I'm sorry kid but your village is destroyed. I looked around for survivors, but you were the only one."

Theo lowered his head, deep down he knew they were all gone. His grandfather and grandmother, everyone he lived with just gone. Though they always treated him like an outcast they were all he had. His father was dead and his mother had been missing since he was a child. The village of York was a small community of only 300 people. They were guarded by walls that were meant to keep bandits out during the early days of development. How the Grimm even got in he cared not. Now he was alone with no family or place to call home.

Qrow scratched his stubble thinking for a moment. He did his research on his strange new guest. Theo Gravewolfe was seventeen. He stood at 6 feet weighing in at 160 pounds. Theos dark emerald colored eyes stood in contrast with his dark skin. Theo was fit, seemed to be well muscled from countless hours of training. Theo went to Signal academy which was pretty far away from the village. His teachers would comment that would show up to school breathing heavily as if he was running. He excelled at combat arms, especially martial arts. The only person he hadn't beaten in his school during sparring matches was another student that went to Signal two years ago. This information wasn't hard to come by being that he was a teacher at Signal. Kind of surprising that not once did he ever see this kid before.

Theo felt kind of awkward being stared at up and down as if he was being evaluated. He crossed his arms over his chest and crossed his legs.

"Sir I am not a hunk of meat that you can just look at." Theo said with a feminine tone.

"Do you want to get hit again?"

Theo still had two pieces of cloths sticking out of his bleeding nose. He shook his head like a salt shaker.

"Good. I'll be back you two. Theo you'll stay here with Yang until I get back. Hopefully with some good news but don't hold your breath." Qrow spun around to leave, his tattered cape hitting Yang in the face making her sneeze.

Before he stepped out he looked back at the two. "You two get along. I better not come back with holes in the walls," his beedy gaze went to his niece. "That mostly goes for you Yang."

The teenager crossed her heart with a finger then stuck her tongue.

Qrow left with a chuckle and closed the door behind him much to Theos surprise. Left in Qrows absence was just an air of awkwardness. Theo opened his mouth to say something to Yang as she spun to leave. Too late to try and get rid of any left over animosity. Theo sighed and got to his feet.

A couple minutes later Theo found himself outside walking about. The only goal for the day was to find a quiet place for himself. Something about this place felt good. The trees danced with the winds and the sky was cloudless. A flash of yesterday night made him grimace but he pushed it back. The grass crunched beneath his feet as he made his way through the forest. He continued walking till he came out to treeless area, only a rock at the center of this field stood out.

There was nothing special about it but this was a perfect spot for him to practice. Theo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His chest rose and fell slowly with his breathing. Left foot slowly came out in front of him as he crouched slightly. His left arm straightened out, his hands curled into his fist. With his right arm he held another fist to his waist. He twisted his hip as he pulled his left arm out so that his right arm exploded outwards disrupting the flowers in front of him. Theo spun around throwing his rear leg into a hook that cut a falling leaf in half. His body spun into the air in a 360 he shot his leg out hitting his hand then throwing his right fist out again. A perfect jumping inside kick.

This is what truly made Theo feel alive. The fluidity, the speed, and power. This time it was different though. His escape from reality started to become a nightmare. Theo could feel the anger beginning to rise again. The trees started to come down on top of him. The sky turned blood red and the grass beneath began to burn. He spun around at the sound of growling that almost sounded like laughter. A beowulf was running at him from out of the darkness. Theo could feel the hatred exploded all at once. He roared like some mad animal ready to tear at this monster. The monster was on top of him and he rolled under its claws. Theo jumped into the air twisting into a back kick that sent it slamming into a tree. Before it could recover Theo was already on it pummeling its spine with strikes that punched through its bones. It fell on its knees and Theo roared once again sending shots of black flames from out of his body. He spun around throwing his leg out in a hook. The black flames shot out and the Grimms head was ripped from its shoulders.

More grimm appeared and he cut them down all the same. No matter what he did they kept coming and the fury within him grew. All around him was fire and Grimm, everything else was darkness. He looked down at his feet and there was a reflection of himself. His eyes were black orbs. Panic replaced fury and his hands went to cover his ears to block out the high pitched noise he began to hear. The screams wouldn't stop they just grew louder and louder. A Grimm was now on top of him grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. Theo tried to fight it off but it pinned him to the ground roaring into his face. Theo gripped it by the throat squeezing tightly. The beast tried to fight him off but he wasn't going to let go. If he was going to die he would take it with him. A punch across his face disoriented Theo enough to wake him up.

His body shot up straight and he sucked in a huge gulp off air like some fish out of water. There was coughing next to him. Yang had crawled away from him coughing and rubbing at her throat. Theo looked down at his hands in confusion then back at her. The reality of what he had done was apparent.

"Yang I'm so sorry." Theo tried to reach for her but his hand was swatted away.

Yang rolled to her feet in a fighting stance staring at him not with anger in her eyes. But fear.

Theo wanted to scream, how did this happen again!?

"Please Yang I don't know what is going on you have to understand."

Yang took a step forward not letting her guard down. "You almost killed me Theo!"

He stood to his feet slowly with his hands up in defense."All I see is flames and grimm whenever I close my eyes. I can't even tell the difference between reality and an illusion. Whatever this is I can't control it!"

Now she started to lower her defense. "Theo that power you have… I've never seen it before."

The teen shook his head. "This isn't something I've ever had before. Whatever it is may be from the attack." Theo wanted to look her in the eye but he felt ashamed he attacked the people who saved him, again.

She couldn't help but facepalm at this abnormal situation. Being here alone with Theo wasn't going to be easy. She knew her uncle well enough that he was going to at least take a few weeks. Yang wasn't that optimistic about being stuck with Theo that long but what other choice did she have.

They walked side by side on the way back. There was an awkward silence on the way back to the cottage. Theo could still feel the sensation of her throat in his hands. It made him sick. Even more so the feeling of anger just waiting to arise again.

Yang glared at Theo. "You seem very skilled at fighting Theo. I don't think I've seen that style, what is it?"

Her question shocked him. He wasn't really expecting her to open a conversation, he liked it.

Theo looked at his fist with a grin. "My grandfather drilled fighting arts into me ever since I could walk. He wanted a grandson that could take on the whole world. There was just something about learning how to fight for myself and others that made me love it. I trained everyday in hopes of one day being able to become a huntsmen but with the way things now…"

All of a sudden Yang lunged at him with an attack. Theo parried her strike and flipped backwards avoiding her downward strike that destroyed the ground. The destructive power of her attack took him off guard.

"Woah what are you-" she threw a right hook that he ducked under then weaved out of the way from a fatal uppercut. Theo grabbed her by the wrist and twisted in an 180. Her wrist locked and she flipped over slamming into the ground.

"Yang stop!" He shouted applying a little pressure so she wouldn't resist

For someone who was in pain he was surprised she was smiling. Theo let go of her wrist cautiously.

"Don't doubt yourself Theo," Yang got up patting herself down and started walking again leaving him confused. "You won't make it that far if you lose your mind."

Theo couldn't help but chuckle. He was about to move when Yang poked him in the forehead with a finger.

"And you didn't win. The next time we spar I'll give you a fight!"

Yang continued walking towards the house, a smile on her face that she tried to hide.

Theo just shook his head with a grin and continued to walk behind her. Maybe things won't be so bad after all, but he knew better to give his hopes up, it was still too early in the story.


	3. Chapter 3

Like A Feather In Air

"Peace and quiet…" Theo whispered as he let out a breath of air slowly. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the living room with his arms resting on either side of his legs his eyes closed to focus only on his mind and body. A traditional meditative practice he was taught when his body needed to relax and return to a more centered, uh, plane?

He inhaled slowly then exhaled, his chest slowly rising and falling with perfect ease.

"Peace and…" There was a sudden squealing of laughter from behind him that made his ears perk up. After a few seconds of nothing he continued his meditating. There was a loud bang followed by laughing then it was silent again. Theo let out a heavy sigh trying to get back in his silent frame of mind. He inhaled again when all of a sudden something came crashing down on his back. Theo struggled to get up as the girl put all her weight on his body.

Theo tapped the ground as she grabbed his leg stretching it all the way back.

"Ruby you're gonna break my leg!" Theo shouted, tapping the ground harder.

Much to his surprise, she rolled off of him. There was a sudden clapping noise then suddenly Yang came running in. "Here comes the thunder!" She yelled jumping into the air and dropping her elbow on to his back. "Guh!" Theo raised his hand up reaching out towards the light that must have been the other side.

The two sisters gave each other a high five laughing at their cruel antics. Theo just proceeded to die on the ground. So much for his peace and quiet.

Ruby Rose was Yang's younger half-sister. It's funny how Theo never noticed someone so bubbly and glittery at Signal. Then again he always kept to himself for good reason. Ruby fixed her black hair that ended up in a mess from the sneak attack. Her silver eyes glanced down at Theo, she extended out a hand for him to grab which he did with a smile.

"You know you and your sister have a bad habit of attacking people."

Yang walked into the kitchen chuckling. "No just you Theo. Don't forget we are going to have a rematch later."

Theo couldn't help but grin at her furious competitive attitude. The last sparring match they had Theo beat her and the firecracker wasn't too happy about it. He could hear her scoff from the kitchen. Ruby sat down on the couch swinging her feet about smiling at something. Ruby brushed off her skirt that covered her black stockings. She played with her red hood that was fashioned to her black shirt by two crosses.

Ruby pointed at him. "I don't remember you wearing that the other day Theo"

Theo took off the black jacket. Embroidered on the back was a grey wolf with a single emerald eye, the wolf's mouth opened up to swallow a crescent moon. Under it he wore a white button-up shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his forearm. Theo still felt insecure about the bite mark so he kept his left arm bandaged hiding it for no one to see. Ruby tried to ask about it but Yang quickly shooed her away.

"It's something I found back in my vil- I bought it the other day at the market." Theo avoided her confused look. He threw the jacket on top of the girl making her chuckle. "Funny you kind of look like a coat rack little one." He joked with her.

She threw it off of her again fixing her hair. "I'm fifteen Theo you're only older than me by two years. And unlike you! I actually have my own weapon." Ruby stuck her tongue out thinking she one but Theo just laughed.

Theo snapped his fingers creating a burst of black flames that formed into a blade. Ruby had never seen anything like it. It handle was wrapped in a white material that matched the moon's own gleam. It had to have been seven feet long, the blade had a sort of greyish look that reminded her a lot like ash. As fast as it appeared it disappeared. Theo smirked tiredly at her. "Truth be told I haven't really been able to control it for that long." He said wiping the sweat from his forehead. "With a little bit more practice I can wield it. Make it my weapon."

Yang stepped into the living room with food for everyone. A mixture of potatoes and meat that she had cooking. The three began to eat at the table enjoying some light conversation. Ruby laughed at something Yang said and Theo made a face that made her snort with laughter at his goofiness. He couldn't help but smile to himself, for the first time in a long time he felt something other than anger. When he lived with his grandparents his grandfather was strict and weakness was rewarded with punishment. Even his grandmother drilled weapons training into his soul for hours on end until he collapsed.

Theo was so caught up in a thought that he didn't notice Ruby was standing near the door, her sniper-scythe secured to the lower part of her back. "I'm sorry what did you say?" He asked a little embarrassed.

"Well since Yang wants to be lazy I'm going town to get some more food. I can go by myself but would you like to join?" Ruby asked. Her eyes seemed to grow two times bigger as if she was begging for him to come.

The teenager rubbed the back of his neck as if to decline when he caught sight of Yang drawing her thumb across her throat threateningly. He was smart enough to listen whenever Yang was threatening him though, didn't need to be told twice. Theo was already on his feet with his jacket in hand to follow Ruby.

* * *

Theo sat on a bench across from the store enjoying the summer night's breeze. He sat back taking in the rich oxygen of the town. Ruby went inside the store while he relaxed.

"Peace and quiet…" Theo sighed with satisfaction. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. Theo finally had his peace. His mind was relaxed despite the nightly bustle of the town. The smell of smoke made him cough. Yet again he was taken out of his peace time from something so disgusting as a cigar. When he opened his eyes four men dressed in black suits passed him with weapons in hand. A man with a top hat and cane was in the lead walking with an aura of arrogance about him, a cigar clutched between his teeth was what he caught in his nose. The annoying clack of his cane hitting the pavement was what really irked him. Something wasn't right here.

They walked into the store. Theo stood up to head towards the store when a man came flying out of the window. Ruby flipped through the air spinning her scythe skillfully over her shoulder to land right next to him. The five men stared at her shocked at this sudden turn of events.

"Okay... get her." The man with the top hat ordered. The gang ran at her, their red swords in hand ready to fight.

Theo leaned against a light post waiting for this event to unfold.

Ruby's scythe stuck into the concrete, she flipped around the handle kicking one thug in the face sending him into his friend. A few flashy techniques here and quadruple backflips there Ruby had dispatched all of the hostiles except for top hat guy. This fight was nothing but a cakewalk to her.

"Well red it's been an eventful evening but with all good things they have to come to an end."

He pointed her cane at her with a cocky grin on his face. Theo was already behind Ruby. She yelped from the sudden force around her waist that pulled her back. Theo threw her behind him as soon as he fired the weapon. His hand instinctively rose up and the sword appeared. The blade deflected the projectile into a nearby light post. The sword disappeared, Theo was not expecting for him to pull that off. It wasn't without consequence though cause he could feel himself slowly being drained of energy.

"Theo he's getting away!" Ruby pointed towards the roof where the man was truly getting away. How did he move that fast?

Before he could act crescent rose barked from the squeeze of its trigger. Ruby's weapon propelled her into the air with every squeeze. Theo made a sigh. Unlike like her she had the weapon to fly, he did not.

He could hear fighting above the rooftop. Theo wouldn't know he had to take the expressway, and by the expressway, it was the ladder. A blast almost sent him flying off as soon as he reached the top. By the time he could peak over there was a second woman standing in front of Ruby. Both of them were looking at a ship that flew away, seems like the last culprit escaped.

Ruby looked towards the older women with a look of glee in her eyes. "Can I get your autograph!" She squealed. The women's deadly glare was enough to tell Theo that things were not over yet. Theo slipped on another step causing a loud squeaking noise. The women spun around staring at him. A white sigil appeared from the air, there was suddenly a flash then everything went black.

There was a single light shining down on the two teens. The women named glynda paced around them lecturing them about tonight's events. She wasn't very happy in particular about what happened.

Theo went to raise his hand and was instantly hit on the wrist.

"Mister Gravewolfe you are as much of a problem as she. Ms. Rose here, I saw what you did and that is not something you should be just throwing about." Glynda Goodwitch was not somebody Theo thought would be punishing them for doing the right thing. Though… Ruby did do all the fighting so really he was kind of innocent.

"I should send you two home with a pat on the back," She admitted. Ruby started to smile until her steely eyes turned back towards them. "And a slap on the wrist!" She hit the table with her riding crop making both of them jump.

Glynda stepped back to the wall to allow them to breathe, for now. "But there is someone who wants to talk to you two."

Suddenly the door opened and a man stepped in. He held a coffee cup in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other. "You have silver eyes." The man leaned in closely observing the young woman's eyes.

Ruby wasted no time chowing down the cookies. Theo crossed his arms over his chest at his words. There was something behind them that made him feel uneasy.

"You look familiar," Theo said in a quiet tone.

The man finally looked up from the electronic pad he had in hand. With video footage from surrounding CTV cameras, he was able to see what had gone down. The one thing that really caught his eyes was Theo. Such an odd character to be hanging out someone so bubbily.

"Do you to know who I am?"

Ruby spoke first. "You are the headmaster of Beacon Academy. Professor Ozbin."

Theo now realized just who was in their midsts. Who sat up straighter seeming to feel a little more uncomfortable.

"Yes, I am. And you two might be?" He extended a hand to them.

"My name is Ruby rose and this is Theo Wolfe." Ruby started to feel a little-worried things were gonna get worse. Out of instinct she went back to mowing down the cookies.

Ozbin looked down at the pad again. "Who taught you how to fight like that?"

Ruby looked up at him with cookies in hand. "My uncle Qrow," Ruby said a second time without a mouth full of cookies. "He's a teacher at Signal Academy. I was garbage before he took me under his wing. Now I'm a lethal weapon." Ruby chopped at the air like some karate master.

"And you?" The professor asked pointing to him. "I've never seen a sword like. Where did you get it from?"

Theo looked away from the man. He began to sweat, his hands instinctively rubbed at his bandaged arm. The scars felt as if it was burning from the sudden attention. With that his emotions started to rise feeding the anger that he was suppressing. Ruby touched his arm, he turned his head to her. Her eyes were full of concern but she didn't say anything.

He sighed with his head held low. "I would rather not talk about it, sir." Was his only answer

The headmistress opened her mouth to speak but Ozbin only shook his head. "I understand young man. We all have secrets and sometimes if we let them out it may be for the best… or the worse."

How Theo wished that was true he thought.

"So how do two young students such as yourselves end up at a school designed to train warriors?" Ozbin asked taking a seat across from them.

Though Ozbin asked both of them his gaze was focused on Ruby, he knew Theo wasn't going to answer immediately.

Ruby laid her hands on her lap. "I want to be a huntress." She said rather bluntly.

Theo grinned at her enthusiasm, though she was younger Ruby already knew what she wanted. Theo, on the other hand, was just worried about what dinner would be. He knew he couldn't live on the kindness of Qrow or any of them forever but as for direction, a compass might help.

The boy was lost in thought and only caught the voice of Ozbin speaking again. Glynda made a sound like she was aggravated. Ozbin grinned at Ruby before looking to Theo.

"Well okay. Theo on the other hand…"

His gaze now shifted towards this new character. who seemed so lost in the world. Ozbin didn't really know what to think of the boy but something inside of him told him that he shouldn't deny this boy the opportunity to grow at his school.

Much to his surprise he spoke to Theo. "You are invited to join my school as well."

"B-but I never asked-"

Ozbin leaned in a bit closer to Theo. "I think you should just say thank you young man."

Theo put both his hands together and bowed to the headmaster, a sign of appreciation and respect for him. Looks like Professor Ozpin provided him with the compass he needed.

The aircraft lifted off. It's destination Beacon. Ozbin let them go and gave him his thanks for stopping the criminals. By the time Ruby and Theo returned neither of them had the energy to tell Yang what had happened or pick up groceries.

"How can you two gloat!" Yang jumped at her sister spinning her around in glee.

Theo sighed. "I don't feel like I deserve this. I didn't even do anything. She's the one that was fighting."

Ruby groaned and walked towards the window with Yang. "I don't want anyone thinking I cheated my way into Beacon. Yeah, Professor Ozpin gave us this opportunity but do I deserve it?"

Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Hosh-posh dude and dudette. Who cares about that? You two get to hang out with your one and only." Yang spread her arms out at the two as if awaiting a big hug.

Theo grinned at the girl's enthusiasm. "On second thought I might just jump off this tin can now. Going to Beacon with you sounds awful now that I think about it. Jumping doesn't seem so bad."

Yang stepped up to the teen butting heads with him. Theo crossed his arms and pushed back.

"Oh yeah, small fry you want to fight?" Yang said through gritted teeth.

Shadow pushed back just a little more. "I don't care if you're shorter than me I'll drop you."

Ruby laughed at the two. She loved their attitudes towards each other. "Okay you two knock it off before you take us out of the sky. Some of the other passengers aren't feeling so energetic and I doubt your testosterone is helping." Proof of that was a blond haired teen stumbling past with one hand to his stomach and the other to his mouth.

Theo leaned against the glass of the flying aircraft. His thoughts slowly drowning out everyone's chatter. Though he was worried about the future that laid ahead he wouldn't show it. There was nothing for him to do at this point. He kinda had to just go along with the flow till he landed. Like a feather.


	4. Chapter 4

Beacon Academy

The aircraft touched down. Everyone rushed off, excited to finally be able to see the prestigious Beacon Academy. For some, this was a dream come true; for others like Theo, he honestly could care less. Even when he attended Signal the only thing he wanted to do more than run away from his village was to just travel. Didn't matter where or what dangers there were if he could just get away from his life he would do it in a heartbeat.

Theo, Ruby, and Yang walked past one of the passengers as they were vomiting into a trash can.

"Lightweight," Theo mumbled under his breath.

Yang punched his arm playfully. "Hey be nice Theo. Not everyone can handle the awesomeness of this place."

Theo just snickered with a wave of his hand. "I'm pretty he was air sick but what do I know? I'm just a guy."

"and you'd be right to remember that." Yang quipped back.

Now the two were going at it again.

Ruby on the other hand ran to each person she could find with a weapon in their hand. She was a literal child in a candy store.

"Look at all these weapons!" Ruby exclaimed. The girl couldn't hold back her excitement.

Yang chuckled at her little sister obsession over weapons. "Why are you so excited? You have credentials rose. It's a scythe Ruby."

Ruby didn't bother to understand the question. "I know that," she drew credentials rose from her lower back. "I made crescent rose myself, there's nothing wrong with enjoying the view."

Theo stood between then with his hands in his pockets. He was enjoying the view of the school itself. It was larger than any other structure he had ever seen. A frown appeared on his face. It would have made his grandfather proud that he was here. Despite the beatings he endured by him he had to respect the man for giving him the ability to be here. The circumstances could have been better.

"Hey you, you doing alright?" Yang leaned forward to get a better view of his face from behind him.

Theo took his right hand out of his pocket to poke her in the forehead. "Yes," he turned to walk away. "Thank you for asking." Before he could let her ask any more questions he wandered off. A jerk move but he wanted some time for himself. After walking for about ten minutes he came across a garden. It was filled with a variety of flowers. A bench was set in the middle of it for those who wanted to enjoy them.

Theo on the other hand just wanted to be able to unwind by himself. A tree adjacent to, the garden would be as good a place as any. Theo jumped up to the low hanging branch then pulled himself up. The branch shook, threatened by the heavyweight but slowly settled. Theo leaned back and relaxed. With his eyes closed, he blocked put the world. Breathing in, then out, Theo allowed himself to slowly relax. After what felt like an eternity he started to fall asleep.

"Theo!"

Theo found himself standing in front of what was his home. Fire so hot he thought getting any closer would roast him in a matter of seconds. He couldn't take his eyes off of the fire no matter how hard he tried. Years of training could have never prepared him for something like this.

A hand slapped him across the face so hard his nose began to bleed. His grandfather, as strong as an ox and looked just like one stood in front of him, gripping his shoulders trying to get his attention. When he finally took his eyes off the fire he saw that his grandfather was crying.

"Theo she's gone!" His husky voice broke through the rest of his confusion.

Theo knew who he was talking about. His grandmother must have been in there. He wanted to cry, scream in rage and curse out against the Grimm. Theo couldn't say anything though.

His grandfather pushed a sword into his hands. "Listen Gravewolf!" He ordered. Theo always hated it when he called him by his last name. Made him remember that he always hated him because he had his father's last name.

"You need to get to the square. Hold off the Grimm long enough to get the villagers out." He pulled another sword from a sheath on his back. He spun around to the sounds of growls coming from house. Five Beowulf's seemed to just manifest themselves from around the burning house.

Theo's heart began to race. How were they going to fight these things? Half the village was in flames. Theo moved to pull his guardian back. When he placed a hand on bus shoulders his grandfather pulled him by the scruff of his shirt. Eyes so full of fire he thought they could match his burning home.

"Get out of here. Protect the people, live!" He shoved Theo back till he fell backward. With a mighty watch, his grandfather ran into the pack of Beowulf's.

No time to waste. Theo wanted to stay and fight. Help his grandfather fight against their enemies. The people needed him though. Needed to get the women and children out before he would be able to help anybody. So he ran.

"Help me!" A scream broke through the air. So full of pain that it made it him sick. He passed around the corner to see a Beowulf ripping into the village baker. His cold eyes staring up at the red moon that hung in the air. His family hid behind some shrubs. Wife and son both holding hands to their mouths at what they were seeing.

Theo took no time to wait. With the blade he had, he ran at the Grimm. The beast looked up just in time to see the blade being thruster towards his face. With his entire weight behind the blade, Theo stabbed the beast in its throat knocking it backward and on its back. The beowolfs struggle came to an end when he twisted the blade.

Tiredly he looked up to see if the family was okay. Frozen in place, no doubt from what they had just witnessed. A husband, a father died to protect his family. There wasn't a more honorable death that a baker- a father could wish for.

No time to mourn his death. "Let's go!" Theo roared. His voice got through to them and they started to run. They passed by more bodies. Torn and ripped apart. A few dead Grimm but not enough to stop this madness. Finally, they made it to the square. Chaos.

A man pinned on the ground by two Grimm. A wife holding back another with a makeshift spear. People kept dropping like flies. The mayor stood atop of a wagon letting loose arrows with his bow. He turned to him with the now and let the arrow fly. Theo rolled out of the way just in time for the arrow to bury itself into the throat of a Grimm sneaking up on him.

"Get the women and children out!" his hand pointed to a group of men holding off Grimm. Women and children ran down the trail to a cave that weaved through the mountains. He turned to run.

"What are you doing up there?"

Theo's eyes shot open and he sat up too quickly. His body shifted too far and he rolled out of the tree. The air was knocked from his lungs and his eyes screwed up in pain.

"You have a wolf on your jacket." The soft voice of a girl stated as if he didn't know that.

One eye opened up to see who was bugging him. It was a girl. She had to have just been a little bit shorter than him, maybe Ruby's height. Her hair was a jet black and her skin a pale silky color. Theo rolled over so that he wasn't seeing everything inverted and wiped his eyes. Her eyes looked like a pair of blood red rubies. She was dressed in a traditional komon kimono. Its silky material matched her hair. A large blood lotus decorated the right side of the chest while a nine-tailed snow fax trotted across her back, under her arm, and across the left side of the chest just barely touching the lotus.

"Can I help you?" Theo asked. When he noticed that he was still on the ground he jumped to his feet. As embarrassed as he was he tried to hide it behind a cough.

"I apologize if I disturbed your nap. I was only curious what you were doing up in that tree. " She sounded shy yet still held a firmness that he couldn't quite place. She gave him an apologetic courtesy of the head that stunned Theo. He couldn't help but feel a rush of heat to his cheeks. This was getting kind of weird now.

Theo bowed his head. "I apologize if I broke any rules. I'm new to the academy and didn't mean to cause any offense." When she didn't say anything he looked up at her. Her expression was unchanged. Instead, she pulled a handkerchief from a small frog purse he just now noticed.

She pushed the handkerchief in his hand. "Your sweating. From the sounds of it, you were having a nightmare. You were whispering something."

He didn't like where this was going. If he had the power to teleport he would have been gone in a heartbeat. "I have nightmares sometimes it's not uncommon-"

"You kept saying live, over and over again."

Theo took a step back. Leaned against the tree to try and calm his thoughts. When he didn't say anything the girl bowed again.

"Please. If your having nightmares talk to somebody. You wouldn't want to stress yourself. Have a nice day." Her voice drifted away with the wind just as fast as she said them.

When Theo looked up he was shocked. She was gone just like that. No footsteps on the dirt of the garden. She was real though he knew that much. Then again his episode in the forest almost made him question whether anything was real these days.

"Hey look its Theo. Hiiiii Theo!" Ruby's childish yell disturbed the quiet peace of the garden. Still, he couldn't help but laugh at her.

Ruby was running up to meet him, alongside her though was the same young man that was puking. A blond haired teen dressed in moonlight colored armor on top of a black hoodie. When he finally reached them Ruby had turned to introduce the teen.

"Theo this is Jeanne D'arc. Another freshman and nooby to Beacon Academy."

Jeanne rubbed the back of his head. "Aw, you don't have to go and say all that. Besides aren't we all noobies when it comes to the other students of this school. Looks like this year is gonna be full of excitement right?"

Theo nodded in agreement. "I'm hoping for it. A chance to learn from Huntress's and huntsmen of such elite caliber should bring some good excitement. Maybe Ruby here will get taller too if we all keep hoping."

The little girl stamped her feet. "Hey give me a few years and I'll be even taller than you."

Jeanne and Theo laughed at her.

"Hey does anyone know where we're at?" Theo asked.

Jeanne chuckled hopelessly. "I was kind of hoping you might know where you were."

"So were all lost?" Theo asked with a sigh.

Ruby tried to hold back a laugh.

Theo rolled his eyes, not in annoyance. He was feeling a little bit better with friends around. Even if they were all lost, in the school… on the first day.

* * *

Author notes:

I apologize for the long wait. Been really busy with work as well as all of life's road bumps. I'm crossing my finger to get two more chapters out this week as a way to make up, if not I'll make up for it this weekend. Please if anyone has any remarks PM me or just drop a review. Thank you for reading and have a nice one.

Shadow out...


	5. Chapter 5

Fire Dancer

"Are you always this quiet?"

Theo didn't care to talk to Jaune more than he needed too. The guy was good just… lacking.

Theo responded back softly. "Sometimes not talking helps to learn more about your surroundings or people."

Jaune gave Ruby a sideways glance, she was too busy gawking at everyone's weapons to pay attention to the conversation. Now it was getting awkward. For Jaune at least.

"Well are you learning a lot?" Jaune asked.

A tick grew in Theo's jaw, he didn't let it show. "I'm learning that some people talk to much." His words were another thing though. The little things were putting him on edge and he hated it. Him being rude for no apparent reason was proof of that.

So Theo took a step back and bowed his head to Jaune. "I apologize for my rudeness," he said to him.

Jaune was taken aback by Theo. "Y-your fine," Jaune stuttered. "You probably just have first day jitters. You're stressed."

 _Stressed?_ He thought to himself questioningly. Theo only nodded his head. Ended the conversation before it could continue. It had been a long time, hopefully this ceremony would end soon and he could sleep.

"Ruby, Shadow! Over here!" Yang called to them from the crowd of students.

He was so deep in thought he didn't even realize they had walked into a great hall. Students talked amongst each other while others sat at tables erected across the hall for students to relax.

"Nice to see you two to have finally made it." Yang said with a lighthearted tone.

Ruby crossed her arms at her sister. "I would have probably made it here faster if you didn't ditch me. I exploded for pete sakes."

Yang gave her a skeptical look. "It's the first day of school and you already having a meltdown?"

Ruby tossed her hands up in frustration. "No like I literally blew up in front of the school. There was a fire and I think some ice." She had to think about it cause she couldn't remember.

"And where were you during all of this Gravewolfe?" Yang asked.

Theo turned to Yang. He was to busy looking around for that girl he had saw earlier.

"You doing okay there weirdo? You've been acting weird since we got here." Yang stated.

Theo shook his head at her. "Just kind of lost in thought. Everything feels like it's moving so fast."

She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine Theo. You have Ruby and me here for you."

He smiled at her. He needed to remember he had friends now that cared for him. Theo nodded with a grin on his face. "Thank you Yang." Was all he said. All he needed to say, she knew he meant every word he said.

"YOU!"

A voice cut through them like ice.

Ruby jumped into Yangs arms in fear. "Oh god it's happening again," Ruby shrieked.

Theo looked at this new character with amusement. Her hair was as white as winter, her eyes just the same. She had a highborn attitude about her that irked him someway. Or maybe it was just the way she talked.

"You're lucky you weren't exploded off the side of a cliff."

Yang looked at her sister with shock. "Wow you really exploded." Yang said.

Ruby hopped out of her sisters arm."It was an accident," she pleaded. "It was an accident."

The white haired girl thrusted a pamphlet in her face titled: Dust for dummies and oher inadequate individuals.

Now Theo was crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn't really liking this girl all that much.

Then she went off on a spree of words over something he didn't quite understand. All he heard was Schnee then garble after that. Ruby was more confused than Yang and Theo. The poor girl looked like she was spacing out when she talked.

"Excuse me miss but I believe you two started off on the wrong foot." Theo stepped up to the girl. "Why don't we all just hit the reset button and start over."

Yang nodded in agreement. "He's right. I think you two need to just kiss and makeup. Let bygones be bygones."

She looked between Theo and Yang with a hidden distaste. "Oh I do apologize I didn't think this conversation was open to anyone else. Please tell me who you are again."

"Theo Gravewolfe," he said curtly. He put a hand out for her to shake but she ignored it completely.

"Weiss Schnee." Finally the character revealed her name.

Yang didn't bother to say anything.

"And my name is Ruby." the red head blurted. "Now that we know each other why don't we hang out?"

"Yeah that is a lovely idea. We can go shopping. Paint each others nails and gossip over boys all day." Her sarcasm could be cut with butter. Ruby with all her innocence didn't understand Weiss was yanking her chain. So when the girl thought she was being sincere Weiss said:

"No." Flat out.

Before they could say anything else a tapping rang out from the microphone.

Professor Ozpin and professor Goodwitch stood on a stage looking out to this years new students.

"I'll," he pushed his glasses up on his face. "Keep this brief…"

Theo didn't like the way he spoke, there was a weight behind his voice that concerned him. What did those eyes see that they couldn't? Was the ignorance of their youth blocking them from seeing an unforseen danger. He could have just been looking to much into it though. These days he tended to over think these days.

When the professor walked off the stage everyone continued talking one professor Goodwitch dismissed them.

The four of them stood around taking his message in.

"It's up to us to make the first step," Theo whispered to himself. He looked to his two friends and the girl. "Looks like we're gonna get a lot more than we bargained for is what it sounds like to me."

Yang ran a hand through her hair. "He seemed kind of, off."

"Almost like he wasn't there." Ruby added.

"One thing we can all agree on," Theo between his friends. "Will all be here for each other. Maybe even you miss Schnee." When he said his words he gave her a faint smile.

Weiss Schnee didn't spun around on her heels. She didn't care for the words of some stranger with eyes like his. She didn't like the way he looked at her. They way he looked her up and down with those obsidian orbs he called eyes. Didn't matter none. She wasn't here to make friends, only to become a huntress.

* * *

Night came a little to quick.

Since none of the new students had assigned rooms yet all of them slept in a hall until tomorrow.

Despite how late it was students were still awake. It was the anticipation that was keeping them all up. What was behind tomorrow's curtain was the big question on everyone's minds. It was all so exciting.

Theo laid on top of a sleeping bag a few rows away from Ruby and Yang. He in his sleeping attire. Grey shorts and with his wolf on it a white tank top with black trimming around the color and arms.

He looked over. Ruby was writing something in a journal. Yang laid down next to her talking about boys or something girly probably. He was kind of glad no one was pressing him or asking him if he was okay. Theo didn't want to be a victim or some wounded puppy that needed to be saved. Then again he was the one sulking off away from his friends like a victim. Theo rolled over on his side, clearly he was making himself agitated at this point. If there wasn't so many people around making such noises he would have meditated.

A little ways away two red orbs moved seamlessly through the sleeping horde of people. Theo shocked, rolled onto his knees to get a better look at this new phenomenon. When he squinted his eyes he discovered that it was her. The girl in the garden with the jet black hair and blood red eyes. He didn't think it was that dark in here to mistaken her eyes for floating rubies, something was definitely off.

Theo got up to follow her. He didn't know why he just wanted to. Something was tugging at him from inside to say something. So Theo followed her. Some people slept to close together, it made traversing over them more difficult than it needed to be. To the right Yang and Ruby were arguing with that Weis girl. Seems like things weren't going the way they wanted it to go today.

Finally he managed to get to the double doors. He cringed when the door made an obnoxious creaking sound that rang throughout the room.

"Sorry." Theo said in a hushed whisper when he was being yelled at. Without anymore delay he swung the door open and entered another section of the hall. The hallway was long and dark. Only a few staggered fire lamps lit the hallway. To anyone with a firm mind it looked as if the shadows were dancing cause of the flames. To someone of lesser fortitude it looked like monsters were hiding behind blankets of fire, waiting, for someone unexpecting to devour. The curtains from the windows blocked out the moonlights glow a little bit to well only adding on to the ghoulish scene. As much as his imagination tried to hold him back he wouldn't let it hinder him from reaching his goal.

Nevertheless Theo made his way through the hallway. Dodging the monsters in the shadows by keeping close to the wall, he looked more like a burglar than a future huntsmen of Beacon.

 _Come on Theo why are you stalking some girl you just met?_ He tried to convince himself he wasn't being a weirdo but that was getting more difficult with every step.

Theo passed a corner. Nothing. It looked as if the shadows were mocking him, laughing at his expense. Theo didn't think any of this was humorous at all. There was no way she could have moved that fast. Then again it was quite enough to hear the whispers of a bug and he hadn't heard a thing except his own breath.

"Do you always follow women you don't know in the dark?"

Theo spun around on his feet and crashed against the wall. The embers from the lamp rained down slowly beside them from the impact. The lights created shooting stars in her eyes that hypnotized him.

Corning him like an animal about to be slaughtered. Still her voice was calm and collected yet still so soft. When she stepped closer Theo could see that she was dressed in black fitted gown. He noted how her hair fell over her face giving her a look of mystery that really intrigued him. He also noted that he was staring. When he went to bow his head her hand shot out and gripped him by the chin softly.

"You don't have to be so formal we have already met," the words seemed to just roll off her tongue. "Please just relax."

Theo opened his mouth to speak and choked on words that wouldn't have made sense. "What is your name?" He asked, for a second he almost forgot his manners. "If you don't mind me asking." He added.

The girls eyes were trained on him. The shadows stopped dancing because her eyes seemed to soak up the flames. The reflection twirled in those rubies more than they did on the wall. "My name is Hope."

" _Hope…"_ Theo like the way it sounded in his head. Odd how she never gave him her last name though. He wouldn't pry and knew better not to.

"My name is Theo Gravewolfe." He was about to bow when he remembered what she said.

As dark as it was he could see the wrinkle of a grin on her face that disappears when he noticed it. "Mister Gravewolfe you still have not answered my question. Why, are you following?"

Mentally he was stabbing himself in the chest. He couldn't explain his way out of this one. Hope barely knew him or his intentions. Though they were pure it looked mighty tedious of him to be out here when he clearly was following her. He prayed she didn't think he was some kind of pervert.

"To be honest," he scratched his head nervously. "I wanted to talk to you about earlier. In the garden."

When she didn't say anything and sat down criss crossed on the floor. "Please continue." She said softly.

Theo joined her and sat crossed as well. "When you found me in the garden you told me that I needed to talk to someone about my nightmares."

"Yes?"

He paused on what he would say next. How do you tell someone that you have visions of Grimm attacking you or that when you slept you dream of people you knew your entire life killed and ripped apart by Grimm. Thinking about it, being here in the dark with her stirred the emotions he tried so hard to bottle up. Theo always tried to be calm and collected, the silent warrior he had always strived to be. Everything has changed in such a little time, it was hard to hold on to everything he was without changing.

"If I asked a question would you be freaked out?" Theo cringed at his own question. God he sounded like such a weirdo.

Hope didn't say a word though. The fire in her eyes seemed to be answer.

Theo took a deep breath to steel himself. "If your nightmares are a reality-"

"Trust in your friends Theo Gravewolfe," Hopes voice seemed to carry the weight of someone who knew exactly where he was coming from. "You fight an internal battle alone. If you keep continuing like this your nightmare will just eat you up."

A moment of frustration hit him all at once. "I hurt one of my friends because of this. I'm losing my mind and don't know what to do." He was pleading for help now. Theo hated how weak he sounded when he talked.

Hope only listened and when he was done talking she spoke. "Are you afraid to sleep?"

"I'm scared to do a lot of things. Sleeping is slowly becoming one of those things." Theo shaky deep breath.

Hope reached out slowly. He didn't know what it was but he still couldn't see her pale skin even with how close she was. She took his hands in hers. Soft delicate hands that held on to his like she had known him for years.

She ordered him. "Close your eyes." Oddly enough he listened to her. It wasn't every day a stranger told you to close your eyes in the middle of a hallway late at night. "Now breathe. I know you've meditated before, just act like I'm not here." Her words sounded a thousand miles away but he could hear them so clearly. With every breath he took he could feel himself slipping into a trance. The only thing tethering him down was her distant voice and the touch of her hands. "Breath. Relax. Believe. Live." Hopes voice echoed through his head.

Something about her voice made him feel good. Behind the darkness his imagination was running wild. Hope was meditating with him except she was still speaking to him in a calm voice. A warmth filled his body. It felt as if he was under hot water.

"Breath. Relax. Believe. Live." She repeated again. This time he felt a pressure on his shoulders. He recognized that it was her hands gripping him.

Theo did as he was told. Breathed, relaxed, but believe? He didn't know what to believe in. He attacked Yang in the forest, he almost choked her to death. He didn't know if he could handle attacking her again worse yet Ruby. He believed he needed to be better. Fight and train harder. Overcome these obstacles so that another incident wouldn't happen. Believing was still too much to ask for.

Theo didn't know how long it had been meditating in the darkness. At some point his voice topped over Hope's and he was repeating her words.

 _Breath. Relax. Believe. Live._

"Theo! Theo what are you doing?"

Something struck Theo so hard in the chest he fell over on his back. Bright eyed, stunned, and confused he stared up at the ceiling in confusion. Ruby and Yang leaned over to look at him.

"Have you been here this entire time?" Ruby asked him. She reached down a hand to help him up.

Theo gripped her hand and let her pull him up. The curtains were wide open letting in the new days sun.

"Holy crap," Theo gripped his head in confusion. "I've been out here the entire night. I was with her-"

"Whose her?" Yang leaned in with a brow arched.

Theo took a moment to think. When he looked at Yang a mischievous grin was on his face. "Well not you firecracker so I guess will never know."

She didn't find that money and socked him in the arm.

Now that he realized it the other students were staring at him as he passed by. Great now he was the weirdo who meditates in hallways. Great way to start off.

Theo palmed himself in the face. "Well before I embarrass myself anymore can you tell me what is next on today's events."

"Hopefully putting on some actual clothes before a teacher catches you." Yang jabbed at him.

Ruby pushed her sister. "Today is initiation day. We need to get ready so go get dressed and meet us in the chow hall."

"You think I can skip it?"

Ruby and Yang looked at each other then back at him. "No," they said in unison.

Like a child he groaned and kicked at the ground. If he thought last night was long then today was going to be even worse.

That was probably the longest time he had ever meditated like that. Even now when he was walking through the hall he kept thinking about Hope and the mantra over and over again. It would have been nice to see her face when he woke up but he couldn't complain. She had no reason to stay behind, she probably thought he was asleep.

If this initiation was to pair all the new students up then he would probably see her. Behind his back he was crossing his fingers that he would.


	6. Chapter 6

Pre-Game Workout

 _ **Breath. Relax. Believe. Live.**_

Theo had to resist the urge to yawn. He failed and ended up making a sound between a choke and gurgle sound that caught the attention of a few students around him. Some chuckled and others looked at him like a specimen.

Theo Gravewolf was really off to a good start.

Sike! Not in the least. Group alpha including Ruby and Yang were the first to head out for the initiation test and unfortunately Theo was not one of them. He would have liked to have been with them but seems like that wasn't what fate had in mind. So, the young warrior sat against the wall trying not to fall asleep, which was proving more difficult than he imagined. What wasn't hard to imagine was mysterious girl last night.

"Hope," he whispered under his breath. Theo shook his head and got to his feet to try to rid his mind of her. He needed to stay focused for his initiation test instead of thinking of unnecessary things. "Hope…" He said her name again as if trying to summon her. He growled in aggravation and stepped off the wall to leave his thoughts behind.

The students in his group conversed amongst their own little cells. Plotting, planning, agreeing to pair up while he stuck out like a sore thumb since he was by himself. The quiet wolf boy with bandages was what he was. No one wanted to team up with a weirdo like that.

"Look all I'm saying if we recruit him will have a better chance." A girl said a little too loud.

"The plan will work-" Another student said under hushed breaths to whoever was talking to.

Suddenly someone bumped into him. Not enough to knock him over but just enough for him to falter on his feet. "Hey sorry I must of not-" Theo turned his head and his eyes widened like saucers at a fist flying towards his face. Taking a sidestep and turning his body he evaded the strike.

"Look what we have here," the attacker had a deep southern remnant accent that threw him off. This was a new character he had never seen before. Tipping his black cowboy hat up revealed the young face of a teen with dirty brown hair and murky blue eyes. In his pursed lips was worn a out tooth pick that he worked with his teeth.

Theo looked him up and down confused. Just as odd as his accent was, his attire was just as foreign. On his hip he had a worn leather holster that held one black and one silver revolver. He dressed in a blue vest, under that he wore a grey button-up topped with a loose fitting tie of the same color. The boots he wore had tiny spurs that tinged everytime he took a step.

Theo realized he had instinctively gotten into a fighting stance after that punch was thrown. When he noticed everyone had their eyes on him he straightened up, his cheeks felt warm from the attention. "Sir I don't know why you tried to attack me but i'm gonna assume it was an accident." His words were straight lies, really, he wanted to blow up but knew he needed to keep it together.

The attacker juggled the tooth pick from one side of his mouth to the other and smiled. "You bumped into me." His voice was heavy with his accent again. One hand rested on his hip, the other rested atop of the rosewood grip of his silver revolver. "I don't take kindly to disrespect."

Theo had to take a deep breath to calm himself down. A tick started to form in his jaw from clenching so hard. This was harder than he thought. It had been awhile since someone had made him this frustrated before. "I'm sorry but you clearly bumped into me, I would apologize but you tried to attack me and now trying to threaten me."

"So you're threatened by me?" He asked, then laughed of course.

Theos cheeks flushed when everyone one "good" from the question. Now a crowd gathered around them, waiting for the climax of this sudden confrontation. When he was at Signal he would have standoffs like this, well, minus the cowboy-esque revolver-toting dick. "I think that if you didn't have those guns on your hip you wouldn't be so confident."

"Ooooh!" Everyone sounded off from the comeback.

The cowboy took his hand off his revolver and flipped his hat up to get a better view of Theo. When he looked the teen up and down he spit the tooth pick from his mouth. "Why don't we have ourselves a challenge tough guy?"

Theo didn't like the sound of that. "Why don't we just walk away and act like this never happened instead?" he really wasn't in the mood for this.

That was just the ammunition cowboy dude needed. He turned to the crowd and yelled. "Look at this yellow belly coward, he insults me then denies a challenge like a fish with no backbone."

The crowd went for that annoying hype sound and Theo shouted for them to be quite. The outburst just kind of happened his mouth moved faster than he could think. The thought of violence made his blood boil and the scar on his face burn. "I'm denying the challenge not for my safety… but for yours," his voice was darker than he had ever heard it before. Even the students around them seemed to take a step back at the new aura that surrounded him.

"Oh no you might have to take that back," he tilted his head down to hide his eyes, "No sir I would be more worried about your own."

It was faster than Theo expected but still expected. His hands gripped one revolver and drew the weapon with quick execution. With his other hand he fanned back the hammer three times and squeezed the trigger simultaneously. Bang bang bang! The shots rang out signaling the start of this so-called challenge.

What Theo did next surprised him. The heat that was boiling up until now moved through him towards his right arm. The blade of black flames he could barely control appeared in his right hand stronger than ever. Without thinking he sliced at the first round cutting it in half, behind him a student jumped to avoid the split projectile. The second and third round he reflected, black flames pinged off the sword creating flashes across the eyes of the viewers. Theo dashed so quickly cowboy dude didn't have time to react. Theo launched his right leg out in a sidekick that barely connected cause cowboy slid back reducing the impact. It was enough to make him bend over in pain and spit his tooth pick out though.

"You fast monkey!" He shouted and drew his other revolver. Theo jumped into the air to avoid a barrage of shots that the students behind him barely avoided. He came down with the blade and only struck the ground. When he came up with an uppercut cowboy dodged again. Theo couldn't even shout in frustration before another volley of rounds were fired. Theo was able to get some distance and dash around him long enough for his guns to run empty.

He wasn't able to pull his moon clips from his belts from how fast Theo was coming. Theo closed the distance with a quick dash and already had the blade coming down on him when two girls appeared.

Theos blade collided with the shaft of her weapon. "Get out of my way!" Theo shouted with frustration. When he went to move his blade for another strike he stopped halfway through the swing. "Hope?" Saying her name with her in front of him seemed odd now. This day really wasn't for him.

Hope twirled her weapon around her body and came up with a uppercut with the blade of her weapon. The blade struck the grip of his sword with pinpoint accuracy, knocking it from out of his hand to disappear into a wisp of nothing in the air. The naginata she wielded with ease was a long red shaft with a mighty curved blade at the head of it. Golden fur that resembled a furry tail twirled from a metal chain attached to the head of the shaft where the blade connected.

"I hope you didn't mean to attack me, Theo," a faint smile on her face made him question whether she was being serious or an invitation to try again.

Theo bowed quicker than he ever had before. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to attack you I was attacking him then you appeared and I-" he stopped talking when he looked up to see Hope putting a covered hand over her mouth to stifle. Theo was really making a fool of himself today.

Hope let her naginata collapse into a shorter version that she kept on the lower portion of her back. "I didn't take you for the one to be starting fights. I guess there's more to you than I thought," Hope stuffed her arms in the inside the long sleeves of the kimono she wore yesterday. Those red gems called eyes told him that she was only teasing. Though her lips didn't smile or grin he could tell she was amused by the little show he put on.

Theo just chuckled nervously. "No no I didn't start this. It was all him," he pointed at his opponent just a few seconds ago. Theo didn't even blink when the forearm of some girl slammed into his chest. His eyeballs popped out of his head when his body slammed on the ground. Blurry eyed and coughing heavily Theo didn't bother to move or talk.

Whoever attacked him threw the cowboy next to him, it looked as if the dude was dead from how beat up the poor guy looked. Seems like Theo had gotten off light. "So you want to start problems along with Russell over here aye?" She asked in the same accent as Russell, guess that was his name. "Well I know you two are just two knuckled headed boys but if you don't want to get kicked out before you even pass the initiation test I suggest you lock up the testosterone."

Theo looked up to see her. First he noticed the same blue eyes as Russel, her hair was kept up in a messy ponytail. Like Russell she had a leather holster on her hip except with one sidearm, this one was different. It looked like a cross between a revolver and semi-automatic pistol. Sleek bulky black frame with the design of a snow-colored stallion. The trapezoidal shape of the cylinder was odder than the large bowie knife she had sheathed to her left leg. She put one hand in the pocket of her cropped blue bomber jacket and the other outstretched for him to grab. "If your worried about me attacking you again don't worry, I'll wait till your standing to do that," she grinned at him with the same challenging twinkle as Hope.

At that moment he knew he would like this girl, she was forward and honest, something he wasn't use to with strangers. "My name is Rachel Stone," she pointed to the barely conscious teen next to him. "And this is my hard-headed brother Russell Stone. If you couldn't tell by the accents were from the south," she started to chuckle from some inside joke, "the deep south." She finished with another chuckle that didn't get a reaction out of him except for a confused look.

Theo took her hand and stood up and bowed. "Theo Gravewolf." he gave her his name and respect.

Before he could say another word their was a loud beep on the PA system. Professor Goodwitches voice came over. "Group bravo please report to Beacon cliff for the initiation test. I repeat, please proceeded to Beacon cliff for the test. Thank you."

Everyone finished up grabbing their weapons from the lockers and headed towards the exit where a transit ship would take them to the cliff. Rachel picked up her brother and tossed him over her shoulder.

She winked at him and nodded to Hope. "Will see you on the field. Good luck," and with that they were off. Theo looked to Hope but she was already walking off. He wanted to say something to her but didn't have words to say. So he let her be. Instead Theo looked down at his right hand, though his arm was bandaged he felt like his scars were still visible even with them. Theo couldn't shake the dark feeling in his stomach he got when he fought. Breath. Relax. Believe. Live, the words Hope engraved in his head helped to subside his worries but not by much. Still, no choice now, it was time to get going. The time for doubt is over.


	7. Chapter 7

Emerald Forest Nights

There was no point in trying to keep the rain out aside from putting the hoodie over his head.

The weather had taken a sour turn and now rain came down from the skies like cats and dogs. Golf ball sized raindrops beat down on them, the cold breeze that swept through the forest up to the cliff didn't make things any better neither. Dark clouds swept over the land, holding the power of thunder and lightning. Everyone's mood seemed to change like the weather too. No more cheerful talks or happy banter on the transport. When the finally got off professor Goodwitch and professor Ozbin was waiting for them.

Both of them held umbrellas in their hands to keep the rain off them. Goodwitch eyed the students with her normal annoyed look. Ozbin, on the other hand, had his eyes set on Theo. Theo did his best to ignore the eyes of the professor as by hiding behind the group of students waiting for word to be passed. If he could just make it through today without anymore weird looks that would be nice.

Ozbin pressed his glasses further up on his face and said, "I hope you are enjoying the weather?" In a questioning manner.

No one said anything to professor Ozbin. Clearly, he was joking, who knows he could have been serious for all they knew the man was an enigma.

Theo let his hands rest in the pockets of his jacket to keep them warm. This day was just getting progressively worse.

"Without further adieu let's get ready to begin. The objective is quite simple, a king of the hill challenge. Find the puckered lilly hill and hold it till the gong to go off. Find the red lilly and you win. Easy enough right?"

This time everyone shouted an excited response. Now spirits were starting to pick up. Not like the weather though, it was going to be like this all day.

Theo stepped onto a metal platform in the grass. Fifteen of them ready to take on whatever may come.

"You will be graded on how well you complete this objective," professor Goodwitch tapped away at a pad she had in her hand. "So I suggest you give it your all otherwise you may not like the end results."

Ozbin nodded in agreement. A clap of thunder signaled that it agreed too. "This is how we will determine who you should be partnered up with. Like I told group alpha who completed their challenge with flying colors; the first student you see will be your partner, no matter what."

Russell Stone raised a hand.

"Yes go ahead mister Stone," Ozbin said.

Russell pointed to Theo, then turned his head to him with a glint in his eye and a cheeky smile on his face. "For the weakest among us like this fish, if we're being slowed down cause they can't keep up what do we do? "

Theo could feel that burning feeling again, he lowered his head more to hide the anger in his eyes.

Ozbin looked between the two students. Something on his face told them he wasn't amused by the question. When he spoke his voice sounded grave. "May I remind you students that you may become future huntsmen. Yes, by ourselves we may be weak," he reached down and picked up a lone stick then broke it. "Like that lone stick, it broke by itself," Ozbin reached down and picked up a few more. This time when he tried to break it the man struggled. "Together you will be pillars of strength that nothing can break. Remember your only as strong as your weakest link. Be the one that holds them together and you will always find victory."

Russell's ruse seemed to have backfired. Theo raised his head, Ozbin's words set a flame in his heart, including the other students.

"If there are no more questions that are only asked to instigate a fight then please, let's begin."

The first student was catapulted through the air towards the forest. Then another and another. Hope was right next to him with her naginata in hand. Drops of rain fell off the black steel of her weapon. With every drop, another student launched into the air. Until finally it was her turn.

"Remember my words Theo Gravewolf and you'll find a way," she turned her head to the sky then soared towards the sky.

Last but not least was Theo. The teen looked up at the sky to let the rain wash over him. His grandfather always did use to tell him water was the purest thing, especially when it rained, that means it came from the heavens.

Look at me now Grandpa. I'm gonna stand on top like a king. The Gravewolf name will reign victorious today. Thinking about how much his grandfather was probably losing his mind in heaven made him want to laugh.

And he was off. Propelled into the sky like a cannonball. Wind and rain rushed tore at him as he soared. In the daytime, it would have been so much easier to see where he was landing but not tonight. It was dark and he could barely see his hands moving at this speed. A flash of lightning struck a tree instantly catching a flame. Another flash went off and a tree appeared in front of him. Theo didn't have any weapon or means to protect or slow himself down from the tree. This was probably going to hurt.

Theo didn't move for quite awhile. His left arm felt numb from the impact and his mouth tasted of blood. He spits the blood into the dirt next to him and rolled over to get up on his feet. With a deep breath, he stretched his hurting arm out then his neck from side to side. It was so dark he could barely see the outlines of his hands. The fire from the tree lit up a path through the forest so he just followed wherever it took him.

Another breeze ran through him making him shudder. All around him darkness touched the trees with its claws. The fire from the tree seemed so far behind him, now he felt completely lost. Rain poured down harder before drenching him from head to toe. When he heard something crack he stopped. A faint growl in the bushes him made him drop into a defensive stance, that noise was no human. To the right of him, bright red eyes glared at him. Only one thing could stare at him with eyes like those. Grimm.

Another pair of eyes, then another and another. All around him eyes from multiple Grimm appeared. Ursai, giant bear-like monsters stepped forth from the shrubs like specters. The closest one lunged at him. Theo backflipped to evade the claws of the Ursai and came back with a superman punch to its skulled face. Its bones cracked under his fist and the creature was sent soaring back into the darkness. More came and he was ready to take them all on. Theo jumped to his right evading attacks simultaneously. Another Ursai took a swipe at him and he blocked the attack, gripped it by the fur and threw the Grimm over his shoulder. It didn't even have time to get up before he drove his foot into its face smashing its face in.

"Damn it!" A swipe hit him but luckily he had his aura activated this time shielding him. He retaliated with a flying side kick that put him in the middle of a group of Ursai. This time he went on the defensive. Blocking blows that came from all around him until he could counter back. Another swipe hit him, this time it took him off his feet and he fell over on his back. A Ursai came down on top of him. Theo gripped it by the side of its head. Its teeth snapped at his face, spit from its mouth sprayed his face as he fought to hold it back. "Get off!" He screamed in rage. That feeling of violence he felt with Russell came over him. Theo could feel his right arm itching and pulled back his arm as the Ursai lunged in for his throat. His hand plunged into the back of its throat like nothing. The other Ursai that were about to descend on him froze in place. The human that stood in front of him wasn't right, something about him was off. To the way his eyes glowed a horrid orange color, a dark flame began to form around his body. A Grimm tried to attack him again. Theo blocked the swipes and slid to the outside of its guard to jump on its back. It tried to fight him by throwing its weight around. When the Ursai went to slam its body against a tree Theo jumped into the air and came down with a dropping kick that snapped its neck instantly.

The remaining Grimm left the area, they were mindless creatures of darkness but they had enough mind to know that this was a losing battle that would cost them their lives.

When the rest of those red eyes disappeared further into the forest the spell that took hold of Theo ran out. The teen fell on his hands and knees, whatever he had in his stomach before came rushing back out onto the ground to be washed away with the mud and rain. Everything felt like it ran in slow motion now, his stomach cramped up and his muscles felt sluggish. He had the same feeling the night he stayed with Yang and her uncle Qrow. Violent, volatile, explosive, Theo couldn't stop himself when he tore those Grimm apart. He looked down at his right hand covered in black blood, it seeped through his bandages and stained his jacket.

A stick snapped behind him and Theo was on his feet faster than he had moved before.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Theo's hand wrapped around her throat but he didn't squeeze. The barrel of her gun pressed against his belly giving him some inventive to step back and see who he was talking with.

Rachel Stone had her revolver out still aimed at him. She pulled the hammer back on the weapon. "I asked a question and I think I better get an answer. Blume here expects an answer and she bites harder than I do." Rachel took a step closer to him and kicked at something. When she looked down she saw the dead Ursai Theo had punched through its throat.

Theo hid his arm behind his back. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to attack you. I thought you were another Grimm."

She looked over to see another one dead. "That's why you look before you attack knucklehead," Rachel holstered Blume and took a knee to observe the dead Grimm. "This your work?" She looked up at him.

Theo nodded. "There's more but they ran off." Theo bit his tongue he shouldn't have said that.

Rachel now looked at him confused. "Ran away? I've never heard of Grimm running away. You sure about that?"

All these questions were really starting to irritate him, he knew it was just the adrenaline or whatever that thing that keeps happening to him was affecting his behavior. "I don't know. It's so dark and when I killed these two the others left," he turned his head to avoid her glare then looked back. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Rachel stood up and dusted off her gloved hands on her black pants. "I'm lost." Was all she said, not a trace of shame was on her face. It was almost comical, Theo knew he wouldn't have had the same amount of bravado when it came to admitting he was lost.

"Well, that makes the both of us I guess," Theo chuckled. "Looks like fate brought us together then."

The girl spits on the ground and looked at him with the same blank expression. "It wasn't fated just chance."

"Can you really explain the difference?"

Rachel pulled her gun out. "Is it fate or chance that I might shoot you cause you talk too much?"

Theo put his hands up in defeat. "No need for violence miss Stone all I'm trying to do is give some sage advice. Sorry, I grew up with people who seldom talked normally, they thought riddles made a man mentally stronger."

"I'm gonna be honest. I really don't care." Rachel holstered her revolver and started walking. "Well come on then. You heard what professor Ozbin said, whoever we see first will be partners. Unfortunately, I'll be yours so just keep up or whatever."

"Well, it seems us crossing really was fate then." Theo chuckled again getting a loud groan from Rachel. She really was going to shoot him.

* * *

"Hey watch out!" Rachel slid under the tossed Theo who flew over her against a tree. She came up under the Ursai with her gun under its mouth and squeezed the trigger. The Ursai fell backward revealing another one that was lunging at her. She cartwheeled out of the way and came upon her knee to fire two rounds into its head before kicking it over to finish it off with one last shot.

Theo wrapped his legs around another Ursais neck. He raised his arms and with a roar brought down double elbows on top of its head till the creature dropped to its knees and fell over on its face. Before he could even recover another Ursai charged at him. He didn't move fast enough again and was knocked over.

"Gravewolfe!" Rachel yelled. She pulled her bowie knife from its sheath and threw it at him.

Theo rolled to his feet and spun around. His foot connected with the handle of the knife and the blade was launched in between the eyes of the Grimm. That was the last one. Theo went over to the Ursai, kicked it over, and pulled the knife from its head and passed it over to Rachel.

"Nice fighting style you have there. I think you're the first person I've met who only uses their hands to fight." She holstered her knife and revolver.

Theo blushed from the complimented. "My family was very big on martial arts, I can use almost any weapon skillfully so I don't normally need one."

Rachel snapped her fingers. "Wait you had a weapon when you were fighting my brother. That ash color sword you almost cut him in half with." With the way she sounded Theo thought she was going to curse him off. She didn't which relieved him. "Speaking of the devil…" Rachel pointed a finger past him.

When he turned around, crawling out from the treeline was her brother Russell. Covered in head to toe with mud, sticks, and leaves her brother made a comical sight. The only way they could really recognize him was the dirty toothpick he still somehow managed to have in his mouth.

Russell took one look at Theo and shook all the gunk off of him. "YOU!" Russell shouted. He made a move towards him and Rachel stepped in front of Theo with her arms crossed.

"Russell quit acting like such a child before we tango again." A faint smile on her face made Theo grin himself.

Her brother tsked his tongue. "Rachel this is just between him and me. You don't need to see this." He drew one of his revolvers and aimed down on Theo.

"Come on Russell, I get it, we got off on the wrong foot. Now, we have better things to worry about. We need to get to the hill and all this infighting won't help us achieve our mission. It was just like Ozbin said, together will break but together we can triumph." Theo walked towards him as he talked. With an outstretched hand, Theo waited for him to do something.

Russell looked at his sister for an answer. She just shrugged. _**Get on with it knucklehead**_ , her eyes seemed to tell him. So he did, at least for now. Russell wouldn't defy his older sister and he wouldn't ignore a man when he had enough stones to shake his hand. So he said, "I don't know what you're trying to get at but for now, you have my gun. Will get through this together."

* * *

Author Notes:

Long hiatus I know, daughter broke my main laptop which kind of stumped me from getting any more chapters done. Luckily the last time I was on duty I busted out two chapters of my other story out. Hence why I was able to get one out last night and this one. Thank you for all the viewers who have read the story so far.

Shadow out… 


	8. Chapter 8

Vicious

Theo was both happy and irritated with the now temporary truce between him and Russell. Theo liked to think he wasn't the type to say anything when people poked at him, with their conditions and constant jabs from the twin brother of Rachel he was finding it difficult to stay calm. The only reason why they were even quarreling was that they were lost and when he kept trying to voice a better

Russell spun around and jabbed a finger to Theo's chest, his hand itched to reach up and choke him but his sister would shoot him dead. "Listen here Theo," Russell pointed at a pair of thick bushes they were going to cut through to get to the hill they still hadn't even seen. "My nose tells me that we're headed in the right direction. So follow me and stop arguing."

"Is that why you were lost before you found us?" Theo snapped back with quickly.

Russell's face turned red with anger but one look from his sister and he backed off.

Everything had been pitch black just like it had been twenty minutes ago if not worse. The rain ripped at their clothing, the stone like drops were now boulders. Even the leaves on the trees were torn from the branches to fall to the ground to be crushed under their feet like bugs.

Something to the right of them snapped, by the sound of it sounded like a tree had been split in half. The sibling drew their weapons and Theo put up his guard.

Russell's voice sounded stern when he spoke. "Whose out there?" He asked darkness that had no end. There was no answer just the sound of the rain. Then, suddenly, the darkness began to form into a silhouette of something big. A head appeared from between dead trees, a head that sat on top of broad muscled shoulders. It was a man.

The air around this man started to change. It wasn't even subtle just instant, the darkness started to swim or more specifically thrash around like a thousand tentacles. His body tensed up when the rest of his body came forth. The man's arms were like tree trunks with muscles and bulging veins, both arms were covered in red tribal tattoos that reached all the way to his chest that was barely covered by the tattered black robe that covered his body.

Rachel and Theo looked at each other thinking the same thing about his appearance. Grim bones from various Grimm were attached to his robe like a sort of exoskeleton, the gauntlets he had on his wrists were made of bones too. When his whole body was revealed they took a step back. This man was at least seven feet tall, the tallest man they had ever seen. What they were all staring at besides his villainous appearance was the blood red bandages wrapped around his eyes.

Russell spits his toothpick out of his mouth. Suddenly it had a bad taste that could only mean nothing good. This was no student of Beacon or someone that had even entered the trial with them. Unlike the students that were teenagers this man was way older than him, even if he was a huntsman he couldn't have been, not with the feeling they were getting from him. "Who are you?" His voice wavered slightly, a sign of weakness that whoever this stranger was noticed it.

A chuckle, more like a rumble that came from his throat shaking the air around them. "So," the one word made their hearts flutter, his voice was so deep and dark it seemed to carry on with the wind. "More cannon fodder to join the false army of that man. Children. Fools. All of you will burn when the Queen comes." The way he spoke as if he was addressing some big audience added on to how creepy this was. Even Russell didn't have anything to say except to pull the hammer back on his revolver.

This time he took a step forward. "I'm not going to ask again," he pulled his other revolver out to make his point. "Who are you!"

Theo didn't like this, they needed to think with their heads, not with pride. "Russell what are you doing. Do you not see that?" Theo could feel his heart race with what he was seeing. When Russel moved the darkness started to move with a quick intensity that frightened him. It was if the air was alive ready to attack all of them at the slightest provocation. In this case a pair of black and silver revolvers.

Russell's head turned to him quickly, eyes full of anger and uncertainty, "be quiet you! I'm sick of listening to you talk!" He turned his head back to this stranger before Theo could reply.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Russell pressed for an answer again.

Even though his face was bound it seemed as if he was staring into their souls. Again his voice rumbled through the air, it could be compared to boulders being grounded to feed a volcano that was about to erupt. "Child. Fools. You attack blindly because you are led to believe that the darkness you see is the true evil. I will show you how wrong you are."

Rachel aimed her pistol and began to squeeze the trigger. "Russell move!" She fired off two rounds that struck the large bone sword that he had in his hands suddenly. They didn't even see him draw it, the weapon just appeared. Russell had already rolled out of the way and came up on one knee, when he felt a sting to his chest he looked down to see a line of blood that ran across his chest. None of them even saw him swing!

Everyone was already moving into action.

The man didn't move a muscle under the barrage of bullets that were fired at him. His arm moved with ease and fluidity, each movement he made the sword in his hand intercepted the rounds. Sparks from the rounds colliding with the blade created fireflies that died quickly. It was enough to see his face though, the illumination that burned across his face showed a smile that went ear to ear. Theo felt himself shudder. The man's teeth looked like jagged knives overlapping each other. The mouth of a beast.

Theo ran at him. He moved so fast that he thought he was dodging the raindrops. When another drop hit him in the face he knew otherwise, he wasn't moving fast enough. Fear gripped his heart, filling his movements with doubts and his mind with negative voices. When he was close enough he threw strikes at his face. Theo barely saw the flicker of his blade coming up when he did a backflip to avoid the slash that would have taken his head off. On the side of his neck, he felt the sting and warm feeling of blood dripping down. When he went to come back in retaliation around pinged off his aura almost knocking him over.

"Hey watch who your firing at!" Theo shouted to Russell who was running to the left to get a better angle.

Russell reloaded his guns and started for them. "Well, you better get out of my way!" Russell fired again to no effect. All his shots were blocked again or deflected. How he was doing that was beyond him but Theo knew that the only way they weren't going to win this fight if it kept going like this.

Theo came in with a flying side kick that hit his gauntlets when he blocked. Theo propelled himself off the gauntlets then came down with a spinning dropkick to the face. The blow connected as well as the back kick to his chest staggering the man just a few inches back.

That was when the man stuck the blade in the dirt. "You're a strong child. I can tell you have something in you the others lack. Yet you lack real power behind your blows. Well, let me show you real strength."

Theo put his guard up to late. Just like with his sword the man just seemed to appear. His giant fist connected with Theos diaphragm. That one blow sent a shock through his body that was worse than anything he had ever felt before. Blood splat out of his mouth staining his shirt and the corners of his eyes went black. His other fist raised over Theo's head and came crashing down on him and Theo. He could only compare it to being hit with a hammer. It didn't matter though, Theo felt the ground come up to meet him then something grabs his leg.

"Theo!" She yelled. Rachel rolled to the side, Theo was flying to fast for her to catch. His body crashed into a tree. It collapsed from the collision with a horrible crack that sounded louder than their gunfire.

Russell came flying in with a dropkick that hit the man in the back of the neck. When he landed on the ground he fired another barrage that was blocked with his gauntlets. He had noticed that the rounds could block the rounds but not well enough to protect him from another attack like that. Rachel came flipping in with her bowie knife. Slicing at the man's face but her attacks seemed just a few inches few from connecting with anything vital. She swiped low for his leg then something hit her on the side of the neck quickly.

"What?" She tried to say, her words only came out as a gasp before she felt her body falling over.

Rachel didn't react for a second but then another blow came to her side that knocked all the air from her lungs. The dead leaves that they were walking all over were about to meet her when his hand gripped around her neck. Rachel tried to pry his fingers but all he had to do was grip tighter and the fight left her body.

Russell was already on top of him with his revolvers. Both of them barked with every squeeze of the trigger, not as loud as the battle cry that came from his mouth but equally as ferocious. Russell wasn't going to let anyone hurt his sister while he was alive. He screamed, "Let her go!" Which did nothing at all except to fuel his anger. The anger he felt clouded his judgment and Russell was about to pay the price for it. He had one more round but the man's gauntlets still didn't shatter. With his other weapon, he spun it around in his hand to use as a billy club which he used to smash against the man's arms. And he just laughed.

"Pathetic." Was all he said. Russell went for a second strike when the man picked him up by the throat. Russell kicked and beat against his arm but it was pointless. "A bunch of children. Fools. You are weak, you let your sister be hurt and you let your partner down because of your pettiness. People like you are the reason why I was kicked out of my village. You deserve what they got. True fear.

The bandages from his head fell from his face revealing something that turned Russell's blood to ice.

Rachel forgot about her pain when she heard her brother screaming. A scream that ran through her body and touched her soul. She could see him, eyes wide open and his mouth open so wide she thought his jaw would fall off his face. She wanted to scream for him to stop but couldn't find herself to say anything. All she could do was watch. Barely able to, she turned her head to her brother. At this point he wasn't even able to scream, only an awful groan came from his mouth and his eyes rolled to the back of his head to show his whites.

"What did you do to him?" Rachel asked, mortified, by the sight of her brother.

He laughed again. "Fear." The one word almost stopped her heart. "I put fear in his heart, in his mind and soul. Your brother will never be the same." He turned his head to her, and Rachel started to open her mouth to scream. Suddenly she was dropped and a dark shadow came flying past her face to strike the man in his side.

Shards of bone from his gauntlet rained down on her. Rachel went to roll over when her hands started to go for her throat. At first, she couldn't figure out why but then when she went to take a breath she couldn't. Dark flames roared around her silently, like quite waves of death. The one thing she couldn't figure out is why something that looked so furious wasn't burning anything. You could see the flames spreading but nothing burned.

Theo felt different this time. He could almost feel the flames around him. Threatening to kill Rachel if he didn't get away from her. When he looked over he could see Russell on his side, talking to himself. His eyes wide open like saucers, looking at something Shadow could not see.

When their eyes met, Russell worded something. "Help us," Russell finally closed his eyes. Shadow closed out everything else, he couldn't see anything but the monster in front of him.

This time he was wielding his sword and slicing at his arm till his armor fell into pieces. Blade met flesh and kissed bone, he could feel it. A spray of blood rained down on the leaves around them only to disappear with the rain and mud. Theo didn't stop and hit him in the gut with a back kick then sent him crashing into a tree.

Theo rolled his head back and let out a pain filled roar. The fire that burned around him made his body burn up to an almost unbearable point. Theo lifted his blade when he heard a groan at his feet. He came down with the blade just a few inches away from her neck, it was Rachel.

Her hands were around her throat, her eyes were turning an awful black when she looked at him. Streaks of black tears fell down her face with every forced breath. "Help," her wordless cry for help not for herself but for her brother stunned him. Theo took a step back, the sword in his hand evaporated. All around him the flames began to turn into nothing. Theo came crashing to his knees, pain shooting through his bodies like tendrils of electricity.

"I'm-" Theo fell on his hands, black began to fill his vision. The sword put to much strain on his body.

A voice crowded over him. "So much untapped power. A power that you should not have." When Theo looked up he saw that monster of a man hanging over him. "You, I will keep alive, her on the other hand." His gaze looked over to Rachel who was silently reaching for her revolver. Theo moved just quick enough to shield her with his body. A double-handed fist slammed down on his back. Then another and another.

"That is quite enough." A hardened voice said. You could see the tint of his glasses through the darkness.

"Theo," Rachel moved her hand from his back, blood stained her fingers. "You're hurt."

The obvious made him chuckle, then fall over on his back. "Tis but a flesh wound-" the rain fell down on him. Specks of mud fell down from his face in huge nasty globs.

He could see a silver cane strike the ground. It was as if the rained the rain stopped.

"So you're the one my Queen wants to destroy so badly." Blood from his arm still stained the earth.

Ozbin looked at his students as they lay on the ground. The carnage of their battle written all over the trees, empty shells from their weapons and blood writing the tale of what happened. "Do you think what you've done here today will deter us from fighting."

His stalked his way to their headmaster. The same malicious aura they had seen earlier worse than before.

Ozbin was undaunted by the show of force, instead, he tapped his cane again. A bright light broke through the darkness filling the air with a warmth that blanketed all of them.

Then everything was silent.


	9. Chapter 9

Recovery Time

Theo sat up on the bed. It pained him to do so but he broke through it. Though he was starting to catch sweat and was breathing heavily from the strain.

"So you don't know who that man was? Or why he attacked us?" Theo couldn't believe it. How did someone that powerful manage to end up on the training field? It wasn't a coincidence that he was there.

Russell threw an empty jello cup at Theo, it hit him on the side of the head. "Quit your jabbering," Russell started. "We barely made it out of that damn forest. There is no point in poking something that can get us killed."

Theo wanted to get mad but he couldn't. Something was off about Russell and he could see it even now, he could smell it. Fear had touched his soul, whatever that monster of a man done to him was brandished to his being. At night, when they slept, Russell would wake up in fits so bad the nurse had to hold him down and sedate him. In the morning he would ask why there were restraints on his wrists, with no memory of his outbursts.

Still, Theo picked the cup up and threw it right back, striking him in the nose. "Don't tell me what I can and cannot ask. I want to be prepared next time."

Ozbin tapped his cane on the deck, a loud echo reverberating off the nurse room walls. That was enough to silence the two.

"Look now you've gone and made the professor angry." Rachel threw a couple of her peanuts at them. "All you had to do was shut your yaps!"

The professor sighed, then adjusted his glasses. "Students," he looked at each of them. Another sigh. "What you faced in the field was no mere man. I myself am ignorant of who he is or what his intentions were but how I see it, you three stopped him."

Rachel would have laughed if it didn't agitate the bruises around her neck.

"You fight a losing battle, and came out on top." Ozbin stepped off to the side. "All three of you demonstrated, courage, loyalty, and bravery in the face of a foe far stronger than anything that you've seen. From here'on forth you are all huntsmen in training. All four of you will be a team from now on."

They all looked at each other, confused at the math.

Theo coughed. "Excuse me, professor. You said four, but theirs only three of us."

As if on cue she walked in.

"Let me introduce you to-"

"Hope," Theo earned himself a stern look from the professor.

He could feel heat rush to his cheeks. Being bandaged up and almost barely able to move was a tad bit embarrassing and he would rather not be seen like this.

Russell started to laugh. "Look the little fish is blushing like a girl,"

Theo sneered at him. His remarks made his face light on fire. "N-no I'm not. Stop being a ass-"

Ozbin slammed his cane on the ground again, this time a little bit more forceful. "Students please," When they didn't say anything he continued. "Hope passed the king of the hill challenge and thus qualifies to be a huntsman in training."

Rachel squinted at the black haired girl. She remembered her, they had stopped Theo and Russell from killing each other. "You're gonna be the TL huh?" Rachel already knew the obvious, she could almost sense what Ozbin was going to say next.

So the professor answered for her.

"Yes."

Hope bowed to them. "I pray that I will lead us to victory. I'll do my best and will only except the same from you." Her words were simple, but it was enough to stir something within them. Maybe the first spark of camaraderie or some resentment for this stranger. Hope eyes fell upon him. Excitement, anxious, pity? Theo could not tell.

" _We have a lot of work to do Theo Gravewolfe."_ They seem to say.

Theo only bowed slightly. No words would come out of his mouth, maybe none was needed.

"Now that we are done with the pleasantries. I expect all of you to be fully recovered by the end of the week. I've already advised your teachers that you will be unable to attend class. This does not mean slack off, so do your best to keep your grades up, and continue to grow students." Professor Ozbin began to walk away, then stopped suddenly.

"Again," he glanced back at them. "Good job."

All of them felt pride in those two words.

Russell made an annoying sound with his tongue. "Wait so since you're our leader," he pointed to Hope, "does that mean our team name is HRRT?"

Theo started to clap. "Wow looks like the dumbest of us can actually use his brain," his tone was mocking and made Russell clench his teeth in annoyance. "I think tomorrow I will get you a hampster wheel to play with as your reward." A mischievous smile spread across his face.

"You little rat!" Russell turned to throw something again but froze up, his hand went to his bandaged side. You could see blood seep through the bandages.

Rachel grabbed a handful of peanuts and threw them at her brothers face so hard he head recoiled from the blow. You could see welts growing on his face already. "You friggin idiot don't move! Now the doc is gonna have to redo those. You are such an idiot."

Theo began to laugh when something hit him in the face. He gripped his nose, drops of blood slowly staining the white sheets. "Outh, that hurth." He said through his cupped hands. Looking over his bed he saw the book that Rachel threw at him. The third edition of how to cope with your anger. Well, that was appropriate.

Rachel sighed, Hope was looking at them with those eyes. Gauging them was what she was doing. Silently measuring her teammates.

"So now that we know you are our fearless leader why don't you tell us about yourself." Rachel hoped she would get some kind of reaction from the questions but her face stayed frozen. Still, those eyes stared them down.

Hope turned to Rachel. "Please," she outstretched a hand to the open door. "Since you are the least injured of the two. Why don't we talk more." A order, not a question.

Rachel rubbed at the bruises on her neck, clearly she was annoyed you can sense it. Still, she did as she was told and got out of the bed. Her attire a simple thick robe that hugged her body tightly. Though she was seventeen, just two years older than him, she had a woman's body. Theo looked away before he thought of inappropriate things.

She and Hope left the room leaving only Russell and Theo to themselves.

"What do you think she wanted with her?" Russell whispered, not a question for Theo but he answered nevertheless.

Theo tried to sit up more but only ended up causing more pain. _This is getting very annoying,_ he thought to himself. Russell's voice didn't make his recovery much better. Theo thought to reply with a jest until he saw the boys clenched hands shaking. _Another episode._

"Probably to inquire about what had happened in the forest. You can tell by the way she looked at us." Theo looked at the full sized mirror next to them. Freshly dressed bandages covered the scars on his right arm much to his appreciation. When the doctor had first saw them she gasped in shock, Theo had begged her to be quite for his sake. He did not want to be probed with questions about them. Everytime he thought about that night his left eye seemed to burn, sometimes the orange glow that came upon him when his sentence manifested.

Russell did not seem satisfied with the answer but he didn't speak again. Instead, he turned over in the bed and laid down. Theo could still hear the shaking of his sheets, his hands shaking amongst the sheets.

Theo himself started to feel the strain of staying up and soon began to retire. Painfully he laid back down, sleep came fast and easy.

* * *

Silver and lilac eyes glared at him.

The teen shrunk against the wall but he could only go so far.

Ruby sat in a chair next to him, a soft hand taken his bandaged one. It made him uncomfortable, the affection she was giving him. It was foreign, being treated so nicely, he did not complain. "I know," he replied. "It doesn't make any sense but it is what it is. I'm just glad we survived."

Yang sat near his feet. You could tell she was angry at the state he was in, she worked furiously at her hands.

Theo managed to lean up without many aches this time and kicked his legs over. He rested a hand on hers to still her. "Hey don't worry too much firecracker," he couldn't help but shoot a glance at Russell. "I think I got it easier than some."

She had noticed what he meant by that. When the two first came in Russell had snapped awake, one pistol is drawn on them and a wild fearful look in his eyes.

Ruby sat down next to them. Now he was being sandwiched by both sisters.

Theo put his arm around them. "So tell me more about this team. Team RWBY is it?"

A smiled well up on Ruby's face.

"Yes, we are you should have seen us, Theo. We fought a giant Grim, things, exploded and I wash like swoosh!" Ruby went on and on.

Theo laughed, Yang chuckled and added special effects to the story. Sounded like they had a dramatic battle worry of a true huntsmen. _I'm jealous._ Theo could only smile at his friends, if they were paying attention they would see the sadness in his eyes. The subtle twitch when he knew that he was jealous of their battle.

"Thank you," Theo ruffled Ruby's hair. "I appreciate you two coming here tonight. It really helps to know you guys are looking out for me." _I'm jealous._ A tick grew in his jaw, he was disgusted at himself and needed to self reflect.

Yang must have seen what he was hinting at so she pulled on her sisters hood. "Come on," she said to her. "Let's let him get some sleep. I think our little wolfy needs to tend to his wounds."

Theo bowed to them and tried to laugh it off. "I'll see you two tomorrow?"

Ruby looked at him sadly. "Yeah, will see you tomorrow."

The two girls stepped out of the room. Leaving Theo to his own thoughts.

He folded his legs underneath him into a lotus position. With his hands in his laps he closed his eyes. Rhythmic deep breaths came naturally to him now that he was alone. The darkness behind his eyes gripped him like a blanket. The black flames of his semblance stirring in pit in the middle of nothing, but he could tell the difference clearly enough.

 _I'm jealous._

Again he felt a pang of guilt. The accounts Ruby's battle lingered in the echoes of the darkness.

When he moved closer to his fire he could see a stranger. The silhouette of Hope.

As he moved closer he could see Hope sitting on a log, warming her hands by a fire that never burned.

Hope's voice was like sweet honey in all this dark. "Your semblance is beautiful." BLooed red eyes glanced up at him. A grin on the girls face made his cheeks flush.

Theo took a spot next to Hope. "I can't tell if this is a nightmare or a dream." He put his hands close to the black flames. _It is kind of warm_.

"It's whats ever you want it to be." Here in the dark, her eyes seemed to glow. "Though I think you want this to be something else."

Theo was ashamed that he needed to ask. "And what could that be?"

Hope stood up and faced him. Those blood eyes drinking in something within him.

"Battle."


	10. Chapter 10

Punctual Problems

Theo dawned his jacket. The wolf on the back swallowing a cracked crescent moon, a single emerald eye glaring at those who stared at him as he walked the halls of Beacon. Ever since team HRRT was released from medical they had received odd looks from their fellow students.

"They're cursed." He once heard someone whisper.

Another girl talked behind her hand as if to hush the loud gossip from them. "I heard that Theo, the one with the scar on his face burned down his own village."

When Theo turned to say something Rachel put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Ignore them," she said. "Let them have their gossip and idle whispers. We know what is true, and that's all that matters."

The other students thought they were cursed cause of what had happened in the emerald forest. They heard about the bone man and how he almost killed them.

Still, the words haunted Theo a week later. He ran a sullen hand over the scar that ran through his eyebrow. I could still feel when that Grim tore me apart.

The teen sighed.

A knock came to the door and Theo put his coat on a little bit to fast, he didn't want them to continue to question about his bandaged arm. "Yes?" He called out. Before he could reach for the doorknob the door burst open hitting him in the chest, he stumbled into the sink and clutched to it.

In came his annoying teammate. Russel Stone. Today he was dressed in a faded grey button-up tucked into dirty jeans. On his feet he wore what he called, "distinguished" cowboy boots with the spurs. In his mouth was a chewed up toothpick. Russel ran a hand through his dirty brown hair. "You look like a salmon Gravewolfe!" He spat his last name. "Why don't you hurry up and get ready. Professor Goodwitch wants us at the arena now." Russel took the toothpick from his mouth and tossed it into the sink. "Let's see if you really belong on this team or not."

Theo took a deep breath and fixed himself. "Worry about yourself Stone, I'll do my best for this team as I know you can so-"

Russel waived his hand at him. "Don't give me no fortune cookie bull. Hope is bad enough as it is, always talking in riddles." Russel turned to leave but not before saying, "hurry the hell up or I'll sic Rachel on you."

Theo didn't need to be told twice. Rachel Stone was not to be trifled with he knew that much by now. Since the four of them had the same room together things were not as relaxed as Theo thought it would be. Theo would try to meditate only to be harassed by Russell's jibes. Rachel, when she would use the wall as target practice with her bowie knife would rightfully be scolded by Hope. Rachel didn't like that one bit. Theo knew it would take a little bit of time getting used to each other. They were all very different to it was no surprise that their different personalities would clash.

When he came out of the bathroom his team was gone. Theo was almost glad for that. When he looked around at the room they shared, it was a conundrum of different things strewn about. Russel slept in the corner on a sleeping bag. Trinkets sat atop the dresser that was stuffed with bullets, beef jerky, and clothing that smelled like dirty and horses. Since he didn't want his bed Rachel took it, she had pushed her bed with his creating a queen size bed. She clearly needed it more than her brother. The girl had created a mountain of clothes atop her bed. It was both impressive and disturbing how high the pile was, you couldn't even see her pillows! But still, she slept amongst that chaos.

Luckily Hope was tamer and organized than the other two. Hope preferred to sleep underneath the window sill, she liked the night breeze that came in. It filled the room with the smell of peaches from the tree three stories down. A dark silk curtain wrapped around her bed, embroidered in the expensive cloth was a pack of fox's, chasing after prey upon a field of red wheat. Theo was happy she had it up. More often than not he would be awake, restless, from the thought of Hope.

Breathe. Relax. Believe. Live.

The words that she chanted to him always came to him at night. In the darkness of the room when Rachel was buried under her clothes and Russel snored like an ox they came to him. When he would wake up from a death filled nightmare Theo would repeat the mantra. So many times he said that Hope could read his mind and was worried that he was keeping her up. Theo Gravewolfe was just a fool. Nothing more.

As approached the huge double doors to the arena he could hear battle on the other side. The sound of gunfire, a sword cutting through the air and shouts or rage. It made his heart flutter. Nervous? No. Excited! Sick that he craved violence, or just an opportunity to test his skills. That's what he told him and it worked.

When he opened the doors he was immediately bombarded with the full sound of battle. Golden hair flashed across his face than an arm wrapped around his neck squeezing till he thought he about exploded. "Hey, Theo you're late. You missed some good matches. Blake fought Nora to a standstill and I fought Ren.

"Did you win?" Theo asked, pulling his head from her grip.

Yang almost looked offended. "Just look at him," Yang pointed to a black haired teen on a bench. Stars were in his eyes and an orange haired girl stood over him, fanning air on him with a huge leaf. The scene was pretty comical, to be honest.

Theo patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, I can see what you meant." He made yet another mental note to never make the bumblebee mad.

A gunshot striking the wall next to him drew his attention to the center of the arena. Rachel was the combatant firing rounds like the wild cowgirl she was. Rachel pulled a cylinder clip from her gun belt and threw it in the air. Her opponent, a dual wielding boy with a terrible mohawk took the opportunity to charge at her. Just what she wanted. Though she wasn't skilled in martial arts she more than made up with her bowie knife. The new clip was dropping and Rachel jumped forward in a front flip kick. The heel of her foot collided with the cylinder sending it careening at him. Just before it struck him she squeezed the trigger of her revolver and the bullet struck the clip. It exploded in a mist of ice freezing his lower half in ice.

"Wait wait!" He yelled at Rachel. To date though, Rachel wasn't one to not finish with a bang. Rachel flipped the knife around in a reverse grip. She was like a cyclone, her body spun so fast you could barely see her. The cyclone struck the Mohawk warrior sending him into a wall. A loud ringing noise came from a PA system above them.

"A perfect fatality Ms. Stone. Although your tactics are a bit rudimentary I believe with some polish you would be the best revolver wielder we've ever had." Professor Goodwitch crossed her arms as she spoke. The Professor adjusted her glasses. "Although your brother may say otherwise."

Theo was surprised he didn't notice him sooner but the teen did not like the sound of that. Russel kicked his foot up on the rail. "Objection!" He shouted at them. "Everyone knows that Russel Stone is the greatest revolver-toting cowboy that has ever walked these halls!"

Yang leaned into Theo's ears. "Hey who is this guy?"

You could see a single tear fall from his face. Crushed was the cowboy for the lack of recognition from the girl.

Professor Goodwitch did not find his outburst as amusing though. "I do believe that you lost your last fight, Mr. Stone. With that being said I think your shoulder worry more about getting your skills up than worrying about who can wield a revolver better."

Russell turned so red Theo thought his head would pop. Whether it was due to the professor putting him on a spit and roasting him or Theo finding out that Russell had lost a fight.

Behind them, someone shuffled Theo turned around to look at a warrior goddess he had never seen before.

Russell pointed a finger at the red-haired women. "What do you expect?! Its Pyrrha Nikos!"

If Theo could he would have just detached his own jaw. He might as well have since it was already on the floor.

Pyrrha Nikos was a well-renowned fighter that was in the mouths of most of the students at the school, already. Tall, muscular, and sporting a long red ponytail Pyrrah Nikos was finer than unrefined dust. Theo couldn't help but notice the armor she was wearing, just that it wasn't very normal amongst the other girls of the school. On her back, a long spear that she called Milo and a shield, its named Akouo.

"Ah," the professor adjusted her glasses. "Pyrrha Nikos. I believe Russell has a problem with being insulted. I do believe Russel would like to have a repeat of his earlier match."

Russel now turned blue. You could see the ass whooping he suffered in his eyes, like a sad flashback of pain and humiliation. Theo coughed into his hand to stop himself from laughing.

"Man I wish I could have seen that." This time he did laugh, to his regret.

Professor Goodwitch pointed her cattle prod at Theo. "And you! Theo Gravewolfe, you think that you can just show up late to my class with no consequences? You are sorely mistaken." The professor had a glint in her eye he didn't like.

"Theo Gravewolfe...Pyrrha Nikos. Please come to the center!"

* * *

Author Notes:

Hey I apologize for the short chapter. I've been typing all day and feel like I've overloaded my brain. I promise that the next chapter will be worth your while. So please stay tuned, till next time.

Shadow...


	11. Chapter 11

The Warrior Spirit

His heart began to beat faster. With each step, he took towards the center of the indoor arena his heart pounded in his chest to burst.

The attention he was getting made his face turn a shade of red that he silently prayed no one could see him. Thank goodness that this room was dimly lit cause if not he would have been more embarrassed than he already was.

 _All because you want to be late,_ Theo thought to himself. Past professor Goodwitch who eyed him with a sick sadistic look in her eyes was his challenger.

You had to be a true idiot to not know who was in front of him. With hair like fire and eyes like emeralds, Pyrrha Nikos walked towards him with more confidence than a lion in a ring fool of sheep. You could see the focus in her eyes that bore through his.

By the time he reached her a bead of sweat was rolling down his forehead. A sign of weakness compared to her cold focused demeanor.

"Theo Gravewolfe," the professor waved a hand to him, "are you ready?"

"Yes," his mouth said, but the words in his head said otherwise.

Then she turned to the warrior, "Pyrrha Nikos are you ready?"

Pyrrha stretched out a hand to him. "I don't think we've officially met," her voice didn't match the stern expression that she was making ago. A genuine smile surprised him. He felt almost ashamed that he hesitated to return the gesture. Awkwardly he took her hand in a firm grip.

"I-" his voice cracked much to his embarrassment. Theo coughed to fix himself, "I apologize for being rude I'm not used to this kind of situation. Normally when your about to fight someone there isn't much talking… just punching and shooting and kicking."

That got a laugh out of her that sounded like vanilla ice cream. "I understand that all too well , but please I did not think you rude. In fact, I've heard quite the opposite of you, and then some," she said with a slight nod.

That raised an eyebrow but professor Goodwitch waved her riding crop in front of them. "Students please, let us get on with the match."

The professor turned her head to Pyrrha once more. "I ask again. Are you ready?"

It was almost like a switch. When her eyes looked back to him there was nothing but focus again. The smile was gone and Theo's skipped a beat.

 _You're in danger_

The voice in his head was louder than professor Goodwitches shout to begin.

Theo almost didn't see the blade come up to meet his face. He backflipped through the air to avoid the blow. A shield struck his arms he had up to guard his chest. Past them, he saw Pyrrha flying towards the air like a battle angel. It had been a while since he fought someone so relentless. It seemed like every attack was calculated to absolute madding perfection. His defenses broke from the onslaught and he couldn't even catch his breath. Theo caught a flying back kick to his stomach knocking all air from his lungs. His body was about to keel over when her shield boomeranged out of nowhere and slammed into his chest.

The only reason why he stopped flying was that a wall caught him. The metallic taste of blood could be tasted between his teeth as he spoke. "That kind of hurt ," he grinned at her as she walked towards him with spear and shield in hand.

"For someone bleeding your sarcasm may be sharper than Milo." Pyrrha grinned back.

This time Theo was. "I have something much sharper than my sarcasm I assure you." When he found his footing he leaned against the wall, concentrating on breathing before walking. Being able to slow his heartbeat and focus he found it easier to summon his powers when he was able to focus. A sicking tingling ran through his left arm that made the bite marks itch. Theo deep took a deep breath with closed eyes that filled him with elation. When he opened them back up, and let the oxygen loose the power that was inside of him felt tamer. At first, his left arm erupted in the black flames that he still was not used to. Slowly the flames threatened to spread throughout his body, but when he breathed more slowly that seemed to cease. Instead, vicious black flame claws formed.

Pyrrha halted in place. They couldn't tell whether the look on her face was concern or nervousness. From the butt kicking he was taking just a moment ago he settled for none of those. "I've never seen a semblance like that before ," Pyrrha tried to stifle a cough behind her shield but he still noticed.

In his right hand, Theo summoned his ash-colored blade with a snap of a finger. The tip of the seven-foot long blade aimed towards her. "Ms. Nikos if you don't mind I think it is time we moved to first names," With his feet together and his head bowed, but never taking his eyes off her, he said, "please call me just call me Theo."

Pyrrha's cheeks turned a slight red that went against her cream colored skin. Nevertheless, Pyrrha Nikos returned the gesture for she would never forget a warrior's customs and courtesies. "And please call me Pyrrha." The warrior's smile made his heart skip but that quickly disappeared when his powers started to weigh him down. It was time to fight.

Theo met her spearhead on with his sword. A slash that was meant for his feet made him vault over her head that he tried to slash at. Her shield came up to deflect the blow and her spear thrust upwards towards his stomach would have been the end of him if he didn't grab the blade with his clawed hand. He wrenched the spear from her hand and slashed her arm with his blade. The blow connected making her stagger. Pyrrha deflected his hand but he reeled back and hit her with a sidekick.

The spear that he wrenched from her stuck out of the ground. Mid-flight Pyrrha used it as a springboard and sent herself propelling towards him. His blade lashed out to meet her shield and instead it was sent from his hand. At the speed, she was moving and with the force of her shield, he wasn't about to get through it. With her right arm tried to punch him but he grabbed her wrist into a lock that sent her to the ground. Pyrrha was too quick and swept his legs from underneath him. His head struck the ground and his eyes closed from the pain. Her knee slammed down on his left arm pinning it and she moved to do it again but he came up with his free arm to grabbed her by the ringlet and pulled over. A punch connected with his nose breaking through his aura, blood fell from his face to stain her cheek as he fought to pin her arm in a kimura.

Her legs wrapped around him pulling him close as she hit him in the face again with an elbow that connected. Sparks danced across his eyes after that and he found himself falling over onto his back.

Pyrrha was on top of him in no time. With one arm raised she looked down at him with a spark in her eyes that he didn't see before. Now blood from her nose fell down on his face. "Yield." Her tone sounded like that ice cream tone from earlier melted.

Still, he did not say a word, and before he could have a chance to regret his decision.

"Halt! That is enough you two. The fight is over now." Professor Goodwitch shouted.

Pyrrha lingered for a moment but soon got up. She extended a hand to him which he gladly took cause he wasn't getting up on his own.

The battle high he felt when fighting with his new found powers wore off quickly and the wounds he had sustained hit him all at once. That did not mean he would lose his sense now.

Painfully he bowed to her. "Thank you for giving me the honor of battle Pyrrha," as he bowed his nose bled on the soles of his shoes. He kept his head down as a show of respect.

Theo almost flinched when her hand came up to grab his face. She looked him in the eyes, the spark was still there. "I've never fought anyone like you ," she said his last name with a curiosity that stained her tone. Pyrrha's hand redrew her hand, she was shocked by her own actions and turned away from him before she could notice her face lighting up.

When she managed to collect herself she turned back around. "I hope the next time we fight you won't hold back Gravewolfe, and I will do you the honor of not doing the same."

Pyrrha bowed her head slightly then asked the good professor for leave which was granted instantly. The professor was had deemed Pyrrha the winner on the account she was bleeding less. That was fine with him.

* * *

It was already so late by the time Theo had left the room. It had taken at least two hours after the three-hour infirmary visit to escape his room to head to the rooftop. Where he could finally find peace.

At the infirmary, his body was recovering from the fight with Pyrrha. There weren't any lasting injuries except for the exhaustion he was feeling from using his powers. Ever since the fight in the woods, they felt calmer than what it was before. In the woods it was wild. More vicious than he ever used them before and yet the fight with Pyrrha showed him that he may have been controlling his powers.

A flash of Rachel's black eyes made him think otherwise. The black tears that fell down her face in the emerald forest stained his memory that he would not be forgetting soon.

On the rooftop, he sat cross-legged with his back to the wall. A crescent moon hid between hollow clouds in the night sky. Twilight stars sparkled like diamonds. The air in the night felt good in his lungs, though it did hurt. Though he didn't have serious injuries he was slightly bruised and his left arm felt heavy.

He took another deep breath which caught in his throat when Rachel touched a hand to his shoulder. "You jumping cause the whooping Pyrrah Nikos gave you or cause you doing something you aren't supposed to."

Theo smirked at her. "Nothing bad I swear ," He patted a spot next to him. "Would you like to sit?"

Rachel nodded her head. "I don't need your permission to sit down Theo." she punched his arm as she sat down. Now that he was paying attention he had noticed her with a couple of drinks in hand.

When she caught his eyes she offered one to him. "You eyeing this like Russell does a blond. Here take it." Rachel forced the drink in his hand with a sly grin.

Theo took it gladly. "Thank you for the beverage." He twisted the top off and took a long sip. It tasted like ginger and burned on the way down, still, it was good.

Another sip and deep breath he felt calm again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rachel looking at him with blue eyes. A tinge of guilt tugged at his heart.

"Now don't you start doing that to yourself Gravewolfe." Rachel took a swig followed by a long sigh. "I'm getting used to pickin up the signs you give off, your face betrays you."

The wolf couldn't help but laugh, though his nervousness did betray him again. "I can't stop thinking about the forest… our fight with that man." Theo took another swig, he could feel his hand shaking from the thought of that fight. "What I did to you haunts me every night Rachel. My… powers, if you can even call them that are too wild. I can barely control them on a good day and when I can't-" The bandages on his arm made him feel insecure.

Rachel finished off her drink and set the bottle between them. You could see the stars twinkle in the glass. "You know you ain't got nothing to do with that," she looked out to the night. "Team HRRT is the only team I've been a part of that doesn't treat Russel and I like outcasts. Since we were young we've always had each other back, it's just been him and I against the world. You and Hope… you two been good to us more than most folks. Russell won't say it but thank you all the less." Her hand touched his shoulder. "Thank you for saving my brother when I couldn't."

Theo Gravewolfe didn't know what to say. He himself had never had any friends. This team they had together was just alright. Everything felt just alright. That was perfectly fine.


End file.
